HIGH-VELOCITY OH IR STARS AT THE GALACTIC-CENTER

We present the results of a small survey for OH/IR stars at high radial velocities in the Galactic centre region performed with the VLA and the Nancay telescope. We have detected two new OH/IR stars, one at a peculiar velocity of -309 km/s, the other at -355 km/s. These two objects and one previously detected high-velocity OH/IR star (OH 0.3 - 0.2, Baud et al. 1975) stand out in the l, v diagram of OH/IR stars at the Galactic centre. Are these stars just on the extreme edge of the radial velocity distribution? Or are these objects no longer bound to the Galactic centre? We discuss these possibilities, showing that these are most likely bulge stars on elongated orbits passing close to the Galactic centre.