I wonder if it's possible this was an optical illusion. Seeing optical illusions where oil tankers are hovering in mid-air has changed my perception of what people could see and how it could be misinterpreted. [1] I'm not a physicist but it almost looks like the photo could be a mountain and it's reflection somehow projected up into the sky similar to how the oil tanker is projected in the sky.
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-56286719