The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 10-Jan-54-Colmar.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Nouveau Rhin Français, of Strasbourg, reported on January 12, 1954, that on January 10, 1954, the firemen of Colmar, on duty to fight against a fire, and many other people, had seen at 03:30 a.m. a round and flat object, with a kind of tail, phosphorescent, shining, and of a sharp red color.
It moved South towards North above the Vosges mountain range.
The newspaper wondered whether it was a flying saucer, and insisted that it was not a joke, the testimonies coming from many people worthy of faith.
On January 12, 1954, the other regional newspaper, Les Dernières Nouvelles du Haut-Rhin, of Colmar, told again of the previous observation of January 9, 1954, in the area, recalling that they had suspected that it was a meteor, and they add that they had learned the day before that the firemen of Colmar out this same night towards 03:30 for an attic fire in the rue des fossés in Colmar, and other people on the spot, suddenly saw during a few seconds only, above the Vosges, a ball of a great luminosity.
[Ref. nrf1:] NEWSPAPER "LE NOUVEAU RHIN FRANCAIS:
Firefighters of Colmar fighting a fire last night, made at 3:30 a weird observation: from the South to the North over the Vosges mountains moved a round, flat object with a kind of tail. The phenomenon was phosphorescent, shiny, and bright red. It was also seen by many people who had not attended the fire.
Students in Bergheim made a similar observation about 8 am Saturday morning. This time the heavenly machine moved south.
Were they flying saucers? This time in any case it is not a joke, the observation coming from many credible people.
[Ref. dna1:] NEWSPAPER "DERNIERES NOUVELLES DU HAUT-RHIN":
Colmar. -- In our issue of last Sunday, we gave a report of an observation made by several people on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. in our region. We had assumed that it could be possibly a meteor of exceptional magnitude.
Furthermore, we were informed yesterday that firefighters in Colmar, forced to get out that night around 3:30 for a fire in the attic of rue des fossés, made the same observation, along with other people at the scene of the fire. They suddenly saw above the Vosges a ball of high brightness. The appearance lasted only a few seconds.
[Ref. cvn2:] CHRISTIAN VALENTIN:
Former journalist Christian Valentin published in 2012 a very interesting book telling the story of UFO sightings, flying saucers sightings, in Alsace, from the beginning to 1980.
In this book, he reports that on Sunday, January 10, 1954, at 3:30 a.m., a fireball moving from the South to the North was seen by firefighters from Colmar during an operation; which was in all likelihood the entry of a celestial body in the atmosphere. He gives the text of the article Le Nouveau Rhin Français for January 12, 1954:
Firefighters of Colmar fighting a fire last night, made at 3:30 a weird observation: from the South to the North over the Vosges mountains moved a round, flat object with a kind of tail. The phenomenon was phosphorescent, shiny, and bright red. It was also seen by many people who had not attended the fire.
Students in Bergheim made a similar observation about 8 am Saturday morning. This time the heavenly machine moved south.
Were they flying saucers? This time in any case it is not a joke, the observation coming from many credible people.
He also gives the article from Les Dernières Nouvelles du Haut-Rhin for January 12, 1954:
Colmar. -- In our issue of last Sunday, we gave a report of an observation made by several people on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. in our region. We had assumed that it could be possibly a meteor of exceptional magnitude.
Furthermore, we were informed yesterday that firefighters in Colmar, forced to get out that night around 3:30 for a fire in the attic of rue des fossés, made the same observation, along with other people at the scene of the fire. They suddenly saw above the Vosges a ball of high brightness. The appearance lasted only a few seconds.
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The description obviously suggests that it was a meteor.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Colmar, Haut-Rhin, round, flat, tail, trail, brilliant, phosphorescent, red
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
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| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | October 25, 2016 | First published. |
