A police spokeswoman said a Highcliff Rd resident called about 7.15am when they thought they saw a flare in the Sandfly Bay area.
Police immediately alerted Dunedin Search and Rescue, Maritime New Zealand and the Coastguard of a possible rescue situation.
‘‘Maritime put calls out, but there were no boats on the water and no calls [for help] had come in through their system.
‘‘We put all the calls out, but obviously to no avail.’’
The search was called off after there was mention that it could have been a meteor, she said.
‘‘It’s very possible, but that hasn’t been confirmed. So we’re not sure exactly what this person saw.’’
The light was seen across Dunedin and as far away as Balclutha.
Dunedin resident Sharron Bennett described it as being ‘‘green with orange burn’’.
‘‘I just looked up as I was about to get into my car, and thought, ‘What the heck is that?’
‘‘It looked like a long green spear with a sort of flaming orange colour coming off the end.
‘‘It was in the eastern part of the sky. It only lasted for about 2 seconds, if that.’’
Dunedin astronomer Dr Ian Griffin said the description had all the hallmarks of a meteor.
‘‘They’re not that rare. You might see two or three of them over the course of a year.
‘‘They are spectacular. When you see them, particularly when they are close to the horizon, they can be really dramatic.’’
He said if people had known it was coming, they could have photographed it with a mobile phone. But because it was only visible for a few seconds, people would not have had time to get their phones out.
He urged people with security cameras to check the footage between 7am and 7.15am to see if they had captured the event.
