ARGELES-SUR-MER (66) 13.07.2014

On 13 July 2014 at about 15:15, 3 members of one family on the beach at Argelès-sur-Mer (66) saw a dark, indistinct disc moving through the cloudy sky. They noticed no trail or sound during 3–4 minutes of observation. It disappeared inland. Only 1 questionnaire was collected. An investigator met the witnesses. The investigation report draws 3 conclusions. First, evidential support is strong, rated 0.8: GEIPAN considers the account reliable and rules out hallucination or a vision problem because several people saw it; the amount and consistency of information are good. Second, the absence of witnesses outside the family moderates strangeness, rated 0.45. Third, plausible explanations were proposed, but no conclusive proof was obtained. GEIPAN classifies the case B: probable observation of an airship or free balloon, potentially an advertising or surveillance airship or an amateur balloon.