Sighting in Vendin-lès-Béthune, August 22, 2010
Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France, France
Sighting on August 22, 2010 in Vendin-lès-Béthune (Pas-de-Calais, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was a sky lantern (class A).
What happened
At around 2:40 in the morning, several people at home watched orange glowing balls drift past in complete silence. The balls were arranged in a triangle and all moved in the same direction, from south to northeast, along a straight path. Before vanishing, they turned a brighter red. One of the witnesses filmed part of the sighting.
Later, a person who had read a press article about the observation went to the gendarmerie to make a statement. The gendarmerie report confirmed that lanterns had been released during a private party in the neighbouring commune. The GEIPAN therefore concluded that the witnesses had seen Thai lanterns passing by, and classified the case as A, meaning identified.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- August 22, 2010
- Location
- Vendin-lès-Béthune · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- A
- Explanation
- Sky lanterns
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2010-08-02686
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.