Electric shock mistaken for an abduction in Sommerecourt

Summary

Intrigued by luminous phenomena he had noticed on several consecutive nights, a resident of Sommerecourt climbed a hill with binoculars on the evening of July 17, 1983. Hours later, his family found him in shock, injured, and telling an incoherent story—he claimed a yellow fireball had seized him and he had fallen several kilometers away. He was hospitalized.

The investigation revealed a 60 kV EDF high-voltage power line on the hill. Under stormy conditions, such lines can produce visible electrical discharges. The most plausible hypothesis is that the witness suffered an electric shock from getting too close to the line, which would explain both the lights and his injuries and subsequent confusion.