Sighting in Mazan, December 25, 2011

The witness saw an orange point of light for one to two minutes. It moved at a steady speed from the east toward the north, at an elevation of about 45°, and then vanished abruptly. A sky-chart simulation based on the witness's account was used to place this path. A gendarmerie report was passed on to GEIPAN in March 2012.

The features described are consistent with a Thai lantern. That evening the wind was light and unstable: it blew from south to north at 8 pm and 10 pm, but from north to south at 9 pm. It could therefore account for movement in that direction, though this is not certain. Since the sighting took place during the holiday season, a lantern release that night would not be surprising. GEIPAN adopted this hypothesis and classified the case as B: probable Thai lantern.