Sighting in « Lac d'Opale (le) » Estaing, July 18, 1989

Two witnesses were standing at the top of a pass overlooking a large mountain lake at around 4:00 p.m. when they noticed an object moving slowly from the middle of the lake toward one of its shores. It carried on over the stones of the shoreline and a snowfield, then climbed a scree slope to the ridge before vanishing into a clear sky. From a distance, the witnesses described it as elongated, with a red glimmer and "white lights", and later as bright and shining in the sun. They also mentioned jerky movements over the stones and two white lights visible on and off, which they compared to "eyes". No sound was heard during the observation, which lasted about 25 minutes.

The next day the witnesses went back to the spot and found no marks on the ground, in particular on the snowfield. Only these two accounts exist, gathered through a gendarmerie report and a questionnaire. The witnesses were not met in person at the time.

The case, first classified D, was re-examined. GEIPAN considers it remarkable for its strangeness and for the consistency of the two accounts, especially the first, which was very detailed. The explanations put forward at the time by the witnesses and the gendarmes have nil to low reliability. A trail runner's backpack fitted on many points, but not the object's disappearance into the air. After in-depth analysis, a red Mylar novelty balloon was retained as the probable explanation, at over 50%. GEIPAN therefore classifies the case as B.