ARCHAMPS (74) 04.08.2012

On 4 August 2012 at about 23:00, a witness saw 5 orange oval forms move slowly and silently across the sky. They gathered together, began a slow ascent and faded from view. GEIPAN considers the description fully consistent with sky lanterns. Releases are common on summer Saturday evenings for local celebrations and weddings. Complex local mountain winds, especially late on summer days, may explain why the nearby Geneva weather station’s wind did not fully match the reported movement. GEIPAN did not investigate locally to identify a release. The witness was reluctant to accept the explanation and raised arguments to which GEIPAN replied (see correspondence). The case is classified B: probable sky lanterns.