The article below was published in the daily newspaper La Voix du Nord, local issue of Saint-Oner, France, page 6, on October 20, 1954.
See the case file.
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Monday, around 9:15 p.m., Mr. Robert Boon, residing rue du Royen in Aire-sur-la-Lys, returning from the steelworks of Isbergues and going home alone by bicycle when, between La Roupie and La Lacque, he had his gaze attracted by a luminous ball which he located between the hamlet of Hourelron and the village of Thiennes. This meteor, in the shape of a balloon, seemed, from this distance (4 kilometers) to have a diameter of one meter.
Mr. Boon was blinded by a flash of lightning, presumably erupting at the time the meteor made landfall and vanished.
Mr. Boon, frightened, hurried home and his family, noticing his state of nervousness, understood the reason when they learned of this atmospheric phenomenon.
Let us add that at the same time, all the dogs in the neighborhood, probably also afraid of the lightning, had barked.
Due to the late hour, few people have been able to observe this meteor which probably fell in a field, and so far we have been unable to collect other testimonies than that of Mr. Boon.
Let us mention, however, that several inhabitants of Aire noticed at this same hour a bright light similar to a flash of heat, but without paying any other attention to it.
