Sascha Wilson
Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
The bright light seen across the sky in Trinidad on Friday evening was not a soucouyant, or any other supernatural phenomenon. Nor was it a UFO. Instead, officials say it was nothing but the SpaceX Starship V3 rocket, launched from Starbase in Texas during its first test flight.
The sight sparked widespread curiosity across the country, with many people uploading videos of the “mysterious” glowing object as social media buzzed with theories about what it could be.
According to international news outlets, the mega spacecraft, described as the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, deployed 20 mock-ups of Starlink satellites and two spacecraft fitted with flashlights and cameras to inspect Starship’s exterior in space.
In South Oropouche yesterday, residents spoke about the excitement and curiosity the sight stirred in the community, although many were still unsure what the light actually was.
Fisherman Sultan Khan described the experience as frightening, admitting that he thought it was something supernatural. “I was coming from the sea and walking in, and all of a sudden I just see a light just rise from the ground to the air and a brightness was just travelling in the air. A lot of smoke was coming from it and to the back of it, was a black spot.”
Gesticulating with his arms in a flapping motion, he said that when it reached about 1,000 feet, it went dark. “I thought it was a soucouyant.”
Another resident, Rawnan Sookraj, said around 7 pm he was playing basketball when he saw the light in the sky.
“I say was a plane or something. I did not really think about it. I was not scared. Some other fellas videotape.”
Diana Roop said she was doing household chores when she saw the light floating in the sky. “It lasted a couple of seconds. I don’t know what it was,” she said.
The rocket eventually landed in the Indian Ocean, erupting into flames upon impact.
