UFOs in the daily Press:

UFO Hunt in the Massif de l'Etoile

All day long, firefighters, marine firefighters, gendarmes, and police officers searched for an object that was said to have fallen between Mimet and Plan-de-Cuques.

It all began yesterday, around 10 a.m., when the Marseille marine firefighters' switchboard received a call from a man claiming to have seen—albeit from a considerable distance—something falling in the area corresponding to the Massif de l'Etoile. This mountain range north of Marseille offers stunning landscapes, but is scarred by numerous high-voltage power lines. At the same time, it was reported that the radio relay station in the Massif de l'Etoile, located between Mimet and Simiane-Collongue, had intercepted a distress call from the area.

Immediately, the prefecture activated the SATER plan—Aero-Terrestrial Rescue. All morning, a helicopter patrolled the massif while marine firefighters from northern Marseille, regular firefighters from nearby towns, police officers, and around fifteen gendarmes combed the area.

The air traffic controllers at Lyon Mont-Verdun, who coordinate flights across the entire southeast quarter of France, were categorical: No flight plan had been registered for the affected area, and they had detected no distress signals—except for one from an EDF helicopter, which had flown over the area but returned to base.

The possibility of an ultralight aircraft (ULM) was then considered, as this type of aircraft does not require a filed flight plan. However, none of the local ULM clubs reported the loss of one of their aircraft. On the ground, firefighters set up their mobile command post, led by Captain Inès, at the most strategic locations—specifically, the Grand Puech lookout, used for spotting forest fires. Located at the highest point of the Etoile range (781 meters), in the municipality of Mimet, it provides an exceptional panoramic view—from one end of the department to the other, spanning from the Alpilles in the northwest to Sainte-Baume in the southeast, with the Sainte-Victoire massif in between. And, of course, the Etoile itself. From this vantage point, the operations were coordinated for the thirty firefighters, five all-terrain vehicles, and ambulance deployed.

A few kilometers away, near the Sainte-Anne pass, four hikers shook their heads:

"The gendarmes told us they were looking for a plane or a ULM. They asked if we had seen or heard anything. No, nothing at all..."

As the hours passed and reports circulated that the radio relay station in the Massif de l'Etoile had intercepted a distress call, another hypothesis gained traction: that of a meteorite. Why not? As the on-duty officer at the firefighters' operational command center explained, "After the 1997 fire, the vegetation hasn't grown back enough to conceal a plane or even a ULM." The search operation was called off at nightfall.

Paul-Henry FLEUR