Brazil has a rich history of reported UFO sightings and alleged alien encounters, capturing the attention of ufologists and the public alike. From mass sightings to individual abduction claims, these incidents span decades and offer a glimpse into the intriguing world of unexplained aerial phenomena. This article compiles a detailed list of Brazilian UFO incidents.
Here are some well-known Brazilian UFO incidents:
Early Sightings and Encounters
UFO sightings in Brazil date back to the mid-20th century, coinciding with the global surge in reported UFO activity.
- July 23, 1947: Topographer José Higgins and laborers in Bauru, São Paulo, witnessed a lens-shaped object landing nearby after hearing a sharp sound. The workmen fled, leaving Higgins alone.
- May 5, 1952: Journalist Joao Martins and photographer Eduardo Keffel claimed to have seen a flying disk near Barra da Tijuca.
- September 13, 1957: Journalist Ibrahim Sued received a letter and metal fragments from an individual claiming to have witnessed a UFO explode over Ubatuba beach.
- October 16, 1957: Antonio Villas Boas claimed to have been abducted by extraterrestrials.
- November 4, 1957: Two sentinels at Itaipu Fort in Praia Grande, São Paulo, sustained burns from a heat wave emanating from a descending unidentified flying object. The fort's electricity, including emergency circuits, failed during the incident.
- January 16, 1958: The Brazilian ship Almirante Saldanha, near Ilha de Trindade, witnessed a ringed flying object similar to Saturn. Captain Viegas and crew members observed the object moving rapidly. Almiro Baraúna photographed the UFO.
According to Donald Carpenter and Edward Therkelson:
"Such civilization could see that in Earth we now have atomic bombs and that we are quickly improving our rockets. Given the past history of mankind - frequent wars showing a belligerent human race - they must have become alarmed. We should, therefore, expect, especially at these times, to receive such visits. According to this, the main objective of the aliens would be to watch our space improvements, fearing we could become a threat to other planets. If this hypothesis is exact, it could be expanded to link the launching of the Sputniks with the attack to the Fort Itaipu. However, this sounded absurd for all investigators. It would mean that the aliens would be worried about our firsts steps in space, and by small space ships so primitive that would look like a canoe if compared to a transatlantic liner. It would also mean that those burnings had the purpose of demonstrating the superior weapons they could use against the aggressive explorers coming from the Earth. However, we were still far from piloted space flight, even to the Moon."
Read also: Unraveling the Varginha Incident
Two men were found dead near Niterói. Both were wearing lead masks. UFO occurred in December 1977, in Bahia.
The Colares UFO Flap (1977)
The Colares UFO flap refers to an outbreak of UFO sightings that occurred in 1977 on the Brazilian island of Colares. During the outbreak, the UFOs allegedly attacked the citizens with intense beams of radiation that left burn marks and puncture wounds. The Brazilian Air Force conducted its first operation to investigate UFO-related issues during this time.
Location of Colares Island, Brazil
The Antonio Carlos Ferreira Abduction (1979)
On the evening of 28 July 1979, security guard Antonio Carlos Ferreira was allegedly abducted from his workplace - a furniture factory in Mirassol, São Paulo. According to his own accounts, he was approached by three humanoid figures who tranquilized and took him aboard a small ship which ferried him to a larger craft further away. There, he said he was positioned in front of a large television-like device and presented with a variety of images before being forced to mate with a female alien, after which he was tranquilized again and returned to the ground.
Ferreira described the creatures as being approximately 1.2 metres (3.9 ft; 120 cm) tall with pointed ears, slanted eyes and human-like mouths. They lacked eyebrows or eyelashes and spoke in a language that superficially resembled Japanese. Some were said to have dark skin and red curly hair, while others had light skin and straight black hair. The ship was spherical with three undercarriage-like legs protruding from the bottom, with the interior lit by bright red and green lights.
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Ferreira states that he encountered the aliens again in 1982, with the craft supposedly landing close enough for him to see the female alien and a childlike alien observing him from a distance. He said he experienced a third encounter later in 1982 in which he was taken into the hangar of an alien craft via a green beam of light before being injected with a yellow substance. He said he was then taken to meet the two aliens once more, the younger of whom he was led to believe was his own child.
Other Notable Incidents
- 1966: Sightings and encounters northwest of São Paulo led to the creation of SIOANI (Serviço de Informação de Objetos Aéreos Não Identificados) by Major Gilberto Zani de Melo.
- 1980: Truck driver Elias Seixas de Mattos from Rio de Janeiro reported an unexplainable experience.
- March 6, 1982: During a football match between Operário-MS and CR Vasco da Gama at the Morenão stadium, over 24,000 spectators, including players and the referee, reported seeing flying objects.
Mysterious phenomenon during a football game in Brazil
- 1986: A series of UFO sightings across southeastern Brazil resulted in jet fighters being scrambled for interception.
- January 12, 1995: A luminous object was seen falling onto a farm in Jaíba, Bahia, followed by a major power outage in nearby cities.
- 1995: Haroldo Westendorff witnessed a cone-shaped UFO near Saragonha Island, Patos Lagoon. He flew around it for 15 minutes, and a smaller object emerged from the larger one. The object was detected by radar at Pelotas' airport.
The Varginha Incident (1996)
Varginha is a city of approximately 100,000 inhabitants in Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. The Varginha incident is perhaps the most well-known UFO event in Brazil.
Location of Varginha in Minas Gerais, Brazil
- January 20, 1996: Three women claimed to have seen an unfamiliar bipedal creature crouching on a small, abandoned piece of land in the suburbs of the city. They described the creature as being 1.6 meters (5 feet) tall, with a large head and very thin body, brown and oily skin, V-shaped feet, large red eyes and three protuberances on the top of its head.
- Two days later, another similar creature was allegedly found lying along a road. Three military trucks were supposedly sent to retrieve it.
- On January 20th at 2:00 PM, a jogger who had previously served in the military observed soldiers in the Santana district. The jogger noticed soldiers in camouflage carrying light rifles and side arms moving near a railroad line. The soldiers entered a large pasture near a wooded area, carrying two canvas-like bags. The jogger heard metallic gunshots, suggesting a confrontation.
- Liliane Silva, Valquiria Silva, and Katia Xavier were walking down an alley when Valquiria noticed something strange in the graffiti. It was an alien. The girls described it as having large red eyes, oily black skin, and a slit for a mouth. It didn't have any hair. Terrified, they ran out of the alley, initially believing they had seen a demon.
After the girls related the incident to family and friends, rumors began appearing throughout the city regarding UFO sightings and alien creatures being abducted by the military.
It is believed that two creatures were captured at the time. The first creature was captured by the fire department after they received a call about a strange animal. The second creature was captured by the military police near the intersection where the girls had seen the creature.
Aftermath
After the incident, Marco developed a strange infection, believed to have been caused by the creature. Doctors were never able to figure out the problem. His body was covered in a greasy substance, and he developed an infection from which he never recovered. According to his sister, she was not allowed to talk about Marco’s death. His autopsy showed that he had a granular toxin, and his cause of death was inconclusive.
Luiza, the mother of two of the girls, reported that four men in black suits came to her and offered her a briefcase of money for her silence, but she refused.
Carlos, another witness, claimed that two men in black suits came to him and recited all his personal information.
According to Brazilian military reports, it is believed that the girls saw a strange old man suffering from a mental illness named Mudinho. The report states that he appeared oily because he was wet from the rain. The military also claims they were conducting regular military maintenance that was scheduled for that day.
Recent Sightings
- November 19-20, 2008: The Claudio Case occurred in Cláudio, Minas Gerais, when the Military Police chased luminous humanoid creatures and photographed UFOs.
- June 19, 2013: A light was visible in the sky over one of the protests in Brazil, and seen by thousands attending the event. It was reported to be a UFO, but it is currently believed to have been a drone used by local newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
1986 Brazilian Air Force UFO Incident
On the 19th of May 1986, Sérgio Mota da Silva, an air traffic controller at São José dos Campos Airport (SJK), spotted three bright lights hovering over the airport in the night sky, and Guarulhos International Airport detected contacts in the vicinity of São José dos Campos. Sérgio observed the objects with a pair of binoculars, noticing that they seemed to emit a bright red light, but often changing colors to yellow, green and orange-like. BRT, an EMB 121 Xingu plane, callsign PT-MBZ, on its way towards SJK from Brasília, reports seeing bright red lights at radial 150 of SJK's VOR, near the coast moving east to west. This aircraft was flown by Colonel Ozires Silva, the founder of Embraer (a Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation), who was returning from a meeting with President José Sarney and who would take office as president of Petrobras on the following day. According to Ozires, the objects seemed like "big red stars".
At 10:48, Anápolis AFB launched their first Mirage IIIE interceptor of the 1st Air Defense Group "Jaguar", callsign JG116, who eventually obtained five radar contacts but no visual contacts. According to the Brazilian Air Force report, after an unsuccessful attempt to close the distance, the light seemed to "turn off", at the same time as the radar contact was lost. Some time afterwards, the controller at Santa Cruz Air Base detected 13 radar plots directly behind JB07, instructing the aircraft to turn 180 degrees. Two additional Mirage IIIE interceptors were launched in Anápolis, but neither had any visual nor radar contacts. The Minister of the Air Force, Brigadier Lt. of the Air Octávio Júlio Moreira Lima conceded a press conference on the 23rd of May along with the fighter pilots, confirming the events of the 19th and stating, "It's not about believing or not [in aliens]. We can only give out technical information."