In 1977, a newspaper article gave some short summaries of a number of ufological cases in France. One of these summaries indicated that on March 15, 1974, in Erbalunga in Corsica, two young people, a man and his fiancee, were in a parked car on a road near the shore between 01:45 a.m. and 02: a.m..
The car's radio functioned.
Suddenly, they felt they were being observed, the man looked up and saw on the roadside bank at only 10 feet from their car, the silhouettes of three persons with long arms, bending forward. They appeared "smooth" and no clothing was seen.
They became frightened and the man at once backed up and got out of the road hurriedly, even denting even the side of their car.
They stopped a little further and saw behind them a luminous object leave the ground, which had a brilliant yellow base separated by a black band from an orange point area, this point was directed diagonally downwards.
Another version says that then his fiancée called his attention to a pyramid-shaped luminous object which was just taking off from a spot about 400 feet away.
Once the object was in the air, it suddenly disappeared, while the car's radio went out as the object took off. A search the next day found no traces.
A report appeared in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans la Nuit for August/September 1976, of which it is said it is only what the witness told, with sketches.
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[Ref. lp1:] LE PROVENCAL:
THE FILEThirty years ago
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Note: full article and scan here.
[Ref. wb1:] DAVID F. WEBB AND TED BLOECHER:
In their catalogue, the two ufologists noted that on March 15, 1974, at 01:45 a.m., a man and his fiancé were in a parked car on a road near the shore in Erbalunga, Corsica, France.
The man looked up and saw on the roadside bank at only 10 feet from their car, the silhouettes of three persons with long arms, bending forward. They appeared "smooth" and no clothing was seen.
The witness at once backed up and got out of the road; then his fiancée called his attention to a pyramid-shaped luminous object which was just taking off from a spot about 400 feet away.
The object had a brilliant yellow base separated by a black band from an orange point area, this point was directed diagonally downwards.
Once the object was in the air, it suddenly disappeared, while the car's radio went out as the object took off. A search the next day found no traces.
The authors indicate that the sources are Gilles Morel in Lumieres dans la Nuit, issue #157 and Alain Gamard, in UFO Register, volume 7, page 44, 1976.
[Ref. mf1:] FRANCAT - MICHEL FIGUET:
In an extract of his Francat catalogue, Michel Figuet recorded:
Case #: | 553 |
|---|---|
Classification: | CE3 |
Date: | 03.15.1974 |
Time: | 01:45 |
Place: | Erbalunga (Corsica) |
Zip code: | 20222 D2 |
Credibility sources: | TD LDLN no investigation |
[Ref. mf2:] FRANCAT - MICHEL FIGUET:
In an extract of his Francat catalogue, Michel Figuet put the case of Erbalunga, Corsica, of March 15, 1974, in the section of the "very dubious cases", indicating simply that there was no investigation and it was just a story told to the investigator.
[Ref. le1:]A READER'S EMAIL:
With version 2.0 of this file, in which had as only source at thas time the newspaper La Provence [lp1], I noted in the "points to consider:"
The case left me empty-handed.
Indeed, it first of all appeared impossible to me to find the least trace of a community or location called "Erbluga" in Corsica.
It was impossible to me to find the least source in the rather bulky ufological literature of which I am the owner that would even mention such meeting in Corsica. I also fund nothing by carrying out Internet searches, with or without this place name, with different orthographies, or without this date, or on any case in Corsica with any resemblance in general.
The article in Le Provençal comprised cases summaries provided to that newspaper by one or more members of the "Commission Ouranos", a ufology investigations group directed by pulp science fiction writer and ufologist known for his propensity with certain fantasies Jimmy Guieu. There are thus only two possibilities: either this business is completely invented, or it " sleeps some share " in files or bulletins of ufology of this Commission.
As it stands, with an untraceable place and a case that seems to have no other contents than this brief and non-detailed newspaper paragraph, it seems to me completely quite risky to conclude that this account is the echo of a real close encounter of the third kind.
But by luck, a reader of the file informed me by email, nonanonymous, the very same day I first published the file:
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Sir, It is actually about the community of Erbalunga (Michelin map 90 fold 2) and the exact date is on March 15, 1974 (between 01:45 and 2 o'clock to be precise). The report on this observation, with sketch[es?], appeared in the #157 of Lumières Dans La Nui (August-September 1976), pages 13 and 14. At the time, the information was transmitted by Gilles Morel who, it seems to me, is a journalist in Haute-Savoie nowadays (one owes him - if it this is homonymy - articles on recent observations in the area of Annecy, in particular mentioned in the latest issue of LDLN). Hoping you receive this well. |
The case, starting from the single source which I could find, [lp1], had left me a negative impression since it was impossible to find the least trace of a community or a place in Corsica named "Erbluga", and not one source other than this newspaper on the case.
This mystery was solved the very same day by a reader: all happened because the place was mispelled "Erlbuga" in the newspaper while it was actually "Erbalunga." By the same source, the sighting's year of 1976 in [lp1] revealed wrong.
It is regretable that information remains fragmentary and that apparently there was not of formal investigation into a case presenting apparently such a high strangeness level.
| Id | Topic | Severity | Date noted | Raised by | Noted by | Description | Proposal | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data | Severe | May 19, 2007 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | No primary source available. | Help needed. | Opened. |
| 2 | Data | Severe | May 19, 2007 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | No other secondary source available. | Help needed. | Opened. |
| 3 | Ufology | Severe | May 19, 2007 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | The place of sighting untraceable. | A reader [le1] solved the issue, the only source I had mispelled "Erbalunga" to "Erbluga". | Closed on May 19, 2005. |
| 4 | Ufology | Severe | May 23, 2007 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | No sign of investigation, according to [mf1]. | Reference to a report or investigation report was provided by [le1]. | Opened. |
| 5 | Ufology | Severe | May 19, 2007 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Available descriptions insufficient. | Help needed. | Opened. |
Extraterrestrial visitors. Insufficient information.
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors | None |
| Reviewers | None |
| Editor | Patrick Gross |
| Version | Created/Changed By | Date | Change Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | May 19, 2007 | Creation, [lp1] |
| 0.2 | Patrick Gross | May 19, 2007 | First published |
| 0.3 | Patrick Gross | May 23, 2007 | Addition [le1], previous version of "points to considered" moved as preamble to [le1], new version of "points to consider," addition of time and of "An investigation report appeared in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans la Nuit for August/September 1976" from [le1] in the summary, year correction per [le1]. Addition of [mf1], [mf2], [wb1]. Added in summary: "a man and his fiancee", "were in a parked car on a road near the shore" Radio failure replaced in context. UFO description added. "And there were three small beings above them" replaced by "The man looked up and saw on the roadside bank at only 10 feet from their car, the silhouettes of three persons with long arms, bending forward. They appeared "smooth" and no clothing was seen." Addition of "and the man at once backed up and got out of the road." Addition of "Another version says that then his fiancée called his attention to a pyramid-shaped luminous object which was just taking off from a spot about 400 feet away." Addition as point to consider of "It is regretable that information remains fragmentary and that apparently there was not of formal investigation into a case presenting apparently such a high strangeness level." |
