Sighting in Rivière-Salée, December 25, 2011

A driver and their passenger saw a bright light in the sky between 6:35 and 6:40 pm. It stayed in place while swinging back and forth like a pendulum. The witness first thought it was fireworks and kept driving, then stopped to take photographs. After getting home, they saw three coloured luminous masses following one another in single file while climbing in altitude. They vanished very quickly. The observation lasted several minutes and no noise was heard. The gendarmerie collected no other testimony about the phenomenon.

GEIPAN considered Thai lanterns the most likely explanation: it fits the wind conditions and the photographs, and is very plausible for the date. It nevertheless noted that the irregular movement of the objects raises a question, since it would require assuming rising air currents along their path. The case was classified B, probable observation of Thai lanterns.