Red lights over the ocean in La Reunion

Summary

On December 19, 2009, between 20:30 and 21:30, several witnesses reported the movement of intense red lights above the ocean near Saint-Leu, on the island of La Réunion. The main witness described five distinct sequences in which he observed the same red light moving in an unusual manner. Despite the clarity of his observations, he did not report to the local gendarmerie, and no other testimonies were collected about the phenomenon. In June 2010, the main witness clarified that what he had seen was not an unexplained event, but a Thai lantern, commonly used in celebrations and carried by the wind over long distances. This conventional explanation resolved the case for the GEIPAN.