Sighting in Montferrand-le-Château, August 18, 2013

At around 2 a.m., three witnesses were puzzled by a luminous phenomenon crossing the sky in a straight line, without making any sound. They counted up to 11 yellow-orange discs, arranged in a triangle that moved along as a single group. The formation then moved away and eventually vanished into the landscape.

The investigation concluded that the witnesses had seen a release of Thai lanterns. The color, the lack of noise and the clustered formation all match this kind of release. The hall where a wedding was being held was about 400 m from the observation spot. The lanterns were therefore probably still flying low and very close together when the witnesses saw them, which gave the impression of a single structure. There was almost no wind, which explains why they drifted slowly and in a straight line above the witnesses. The town hall, and then the person who had rented the hall, confirmed that lanterns were released at the time of the sighting. The case was classified A.