No sign of 'UFO' - NSRI
2006-05-21 22:40
Port Shepstone - There is no sign of an apparent "UFO" that was reported to have crashed into the sea off Port Shepstone on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.
National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson Craig Lambinon says nothing has been found yet, despite an extensive search over an area covering 12 square nautical miles.
The mysterious object that "crashed" into the sea behind the breaker-line off-shore of Port Shepstone High School about 12:20 on Saturday, has raised a frenzy of interest worldwide.
The number of readers who have clicked on the report carried by News24 reached more than 30 000 by 18:00 on Sunday afternoon.
Lambinon said on Sunday evening: "Witnesses said they thought they saw an unidentified object, possibly an aircraft, crash into the sea, but absolutely nothing has been found.
"Police and the NSRI offices in Shelley Beach and Port Edward responded to the call that something had crashed into the sea.
Some even saw flames
" Margate air traffic control also searched the area with a fixed-wing aircraft.
Numerous witnesses, including pupils and teachers at a school sports event, and fishermen were convinced they saw an aircraft go into the water.
"They saw smoke and water exploding. Some even saw flames.
"Some reported seeing an unidentified object splash into the sea causing a ripple of waves," said Lambinon.
"A reliable source, who was on a hill overlooking the sea about 2km away, said he saw something crash into the sea.
"The object trailed smoke behind it, and even after it had crashed the column of smoke hung in the air for several minutes.
"It caused a big splash when it hit the water and bobbed up and down," said Lambinon, quoting one of the witnesses.
'It might have been the weather...'
"There are no reports of activity in the area that may be related to this incident and there are no aircraft reported to be overdue or missing.
"The number of witness reports leads us to presume that weather activity in the area at the time may have given the impression of something falling into the sea.
"We will continue to monitor the situation, which remains a mystery," said Lambinon, adding: "If there ever was something...".