One day after the local authorities in Phu Tho Province discovered an object resembling a sky lantern that had fallen in the area, numerous social media posts revealed the origin of this object.
On the morning of January 4th, the Thanh Ba district government (Phu Tho) announced a letter found attached to the balloon. The content of the letter confirmed that the sky lantern had flown from abroad into Vietnam.
In an interview with a reporter after reading the letter, Mr. Zwe Oak Soe (a writer for the online forum Mohinga Matters, Myanmar) stated that the letter indicated the lantern was released by 12 people from Kong Ka Lay village, Kayin State, Myanmar, in celebration of the Karen New Year (January 2, 2022).
The letter found inside the sky lantern.
The names of the 12 individuals were written below the introduction. At the end of the letter, this group expressed a desire to know where the lantern would land and provided a contact number for recipients to reach them.
Mr. Zwe Oak Soe mentioned that releasing sky lanterns or homemade balloons is a traditional activity in Myanmar. This practice typically occurs around October to November in rural areas but is restricted in some major cities.
This Myanmar man noted that the news of the sky lantern landing in a province in Vietnam is also circulating on social media in Myanmar, with many expressing surprise at the distance traveled by the lantern.
According to Google Maps, the straight-line distance from Kayin State, Myanmar, to Phu Tho Province is over 900 km. If this sky lantern flew directly, it would traverse the airspace of Thailand and Laos before reaching Vietnam.
The question arises as to how a large sky lantern could fly over the airspace of multiple countries and land in a province deep in the interior of Vietnam, surprising local authorities.
Releasing sky lanterns and homemade balloons is an annual activity in Myanmar; however, the situation of a lantern flying all the way to Vietnam is rare.
Analyzing the “flying object” in Phu Tho, an expert in air traffic control stated that the situation could become serious if the sky lantern landed near an airport in Vietnam.
“In that case, air traffic controllers could detect the lantern through visual observation. Flight operations may be interrupted to address the unidentified object,” the expert noted.
Not only do sky lanterns pose a threat to air traffic, but they also carry risks of fire and explosions when landing on the ground.
In Vietnam, the government has strictly prohibited the act of releasing sky lanterns since 2009. This regulation is enforced so rigorously that traditional sky lantern releases during festivals are also not allowed.
In an interview, an officer from the Air Defense – Air Force branch indicated that radar systems would have difficulty detecting flying objects not made of metal, as they have poor radar reflection and lack the control systems found in other aircraft.
To detect the sky lantern, primarily visual observation and supporting tools like TZK scopes are used.
The officer mentioned that district military commands are equipped with TZK scopes to monitor the airspace, detect incoming flying objects, and respond according to orders.
