Sighting in Archamps, August 4, 2012

At around 11 p.m., the witness saw five orange, oval shapes drift slowly and silently across the sky. The shapes drew together and then began a slow climb. Their brightness gradually faded until the witness lost sight of them.

GEIPAN considered that this description fits the passage of Thai lanterns very well. Such releases are very common on summer Saturday evenings, during local festivals or weddings, and 4 August 2012 was a Saturday. Local winds in the mountains are very complex, especially in summer toward the end of the day, so the wind recorded by the nearby weather station in Geneva did not match the observed movement exactly. GEIPAN did not carry out a local inquiry to trace whoever might have released lanterns. The witness remained reluctant to accept this explanation and put forward arguments, to which GEIPAN replied by letter. The case is classified B: probable observation of Thai lanterns.