The Naga Fireballs: Where hundreds of Fireballs Spontaneoulsy Shoot

Naga Fireballs (Image Credit: Tourism Authority of Thailand)

The Naga Fireballs, also known as the Mekong lights is a phenomenon- where hundreds of fireballs spontaneously explode out of Thailand's Mekong River. It is said to occurs in late October every year along the Mekong river.



In 2002, a television network iTV sent a crew to investigate the source of the fireballs. On the program titled Code Cracking, They filmed Laotian soldiers firing tracer rounds into the air on the Lao side of the river. The broadcast was widely perceived as an attack on a sacred belief -that the balls come from the breath of Naga or Phaya Naga, a mythical snake that haunts the river.

Others believe the fireballs are actually pockets of methane bubbling up from the river, but many locals remain convinced that the fireballs are a supernatural origin.

Naga Lights (Image Credit: Tourism Authority of Thailand)

[1] Napanisa Kaewmorakot. Science Ministry Solves Naga Fireballs Mystery. The Nation (Nong Khai). Here