Air explosion baffles RAF

The cause of an explosion in the sky which sparked a major air and sea search off the North of Scotland may never be known, searchers said last night.

A major operation was launched off the Butt of Lewis on Saturday night after around a dozen locals reported seeing a mysterious object falling out of the sky.

An RAF Nimrod and helicopter were out again at first light yesterday while a sea search involving a French fishing boat continued.

The search, which covered more than 1,000 square miles of the Atlantic, was called off at lunchtime.