Sighting in Elne, February 28, 2010

Two people were in their kitchen at around 2:40 a.m. when they saw a bright orange, sparkling sphere pass by silently. It did not blink. The sighting lasted about two minutes. The object flew at low altitude along a straight path, heading north-northeast according to the witnesses' estimate, and then vanished vertically.

The investigation had no doubts about the sincerity of the two witnesses, although their accounts differed at the start. Their description strongly suggests a Thai lantern. The impression of an object disappearing upward is fairly common when a lantern's flame goes out. The estimated direction does not quite match the wind, which was blowing toward the north-northwest. However, the difference can be explained: the wind measured at ground level at Rivesaltes is not the same as the wind at 200 or 300 m altitude at Bages, and the witnesses' estimate of direction is necessarily imprecise. The timing, a Saturday-to-Sunday night, is also typical for lantern releases, which are fairly common in the region. GEIPAN classified the case as B: probable sighting of a Thai lantern.