UFO ROUNDUP Volume 4 Number 08
Volume 4
Number 8
February 22, 1999
Editor: Joseph Trainor
E-mail: Masinaigan@aol.com
UFOs VIDEOTAPED IN THE SKIES OF PERU On Tuesday night, February 9, 1999, just before midnight, pescadores from the port of Pisco, 300 kilometers (180 miles) south of Lima, the capital of Peru, watched a large anomalous light emerge from the Pacific Ocean. The UFO, described by witnesses as a nave nodriza (Spanish for "supply ship" or mothership--J.T.) rose into the air, banked sharply to the right and flew away in an easterly direction, heading for the shore. The following evening, Wednesday, February 10, 1999, residents of Chorrillos, a suburb of Lima about 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of the capital, reported seeing luminous discs "flying at a low altitude." In Jesus Maria, another Lima suburb, residents poured into the plaza to watch the overflight. One man videotaped it with his camera. Within the hour, another squadron of luminous UFOs flew over the seaport city of Callao, 13 kilometers (8 miles) west of Lima. By now, the word had spread, and a crowd of about 2,000 people witnessed the overflight of Callao. "Neighbors in the zone went outside of their homes in the hope of seeing the OVNIs (Spanish acronym for UFOs) again." At 11 p.m. that evening, Canal 5 (Channel 5) Television Panamericana stunned all two million residents of Lima with a special 40-minute broadcast on the UFO flap. The show aired home video footage of the objects flying over Jesus Maria and Callao. Canal 2 in Lima also aired the UFO videos. In the city of Ica, 400 kilometers (240 miles) south of Lima and 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Pisco, residents saw two luminous UFOs flying eastward towards the Andes. On Thursday, February 11, people in the cafes around Pisco's central plaza were talking nonstop about the second UFO display the previous night. Rumors spread about the presence of an undersea base a dozen kilometers offshore. Some said it was an alien base; others claimed that it was "an OTAN (Spanish acronym for NATO) secret base." According to UFO Roundup correspondent Pilar Valencia, Lima's "tabloid press went wild on Days 1 and 2 of the flap," printing the Pisco undersea base story and speculating that the UFOs were in Peru to observe "the end of the world." Friday, February 12, 1999, saw UFO reports coming from the desert northeast of Jorge Chavez International Airport, 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of Lima In Lince, a Lima suburb 5 kilometers (3 miles) south of the Plaza de San Martin, residents rushed into the Avenida Garcilaso de la Vega to watch the UFOs pass overhead. (Editor's Comment: This is getting too close for comfort. In 1978, I lived on the Avenida Petit Thouars in Lince.) Beachgoers in La Herradura, a seaside resort 11 kilometers (7 miles) from Lima, reported seeing anomalous lights in the sky after sunset. (Editor's Note: It's late summer right now in Peru and the other countries of the southern hemisphere.) According to Dr. Virgilio Sanchez Ocedo of UFO Miami, on Saturday, February 13, 1999, "Another UFO was filmed in daytime and shown on Canal 5 Television Panamericana" that night. The startling videotape shows the saucer skimming low over the rooftops of stucco houses and palm trees in Callao. The same day, however, the Lima newspapers El Comercio and El Expresso dismissed the flap, stating that the nocturnal lights had been caused by "a news magazine's advertising campaign--a helicopter with lights cruising the nighttime skies." (See the newspapers El Comercio and El Expresso for February 13, 1999. Muchas gracias a Pilar Valencia, Guillermo Alarcon, Henry Farias, Rose Marie Paz y Dr. Virgilio Sanchez Ocedo para esas informaciones sobre los OVNIs en Peru.) GIANT CYLINDRICAL UFO SEEN OVER GLOUCESTERSHIRE On Monday, February 8, 1999, businessman Miles J. was relaxing in his seat aboard a British Midlands A310 Airbus jetliner when he spotted something odd outside his window. He was flying home from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and the plane "had just begun its descent into London's Heathrow Airport. I was seated on the right side of the Airbus, and I first saw it as a kind of after-image." Looking again, Miles "saw a large, cigar-shaped UFO, at very high altitude. The very large, distinct, big cylindrical object was above the highest cloud layer. It seemed, relative to the aircraft, to be stationary. It was about 15 degrees deviation from the aircraft's flight path." "As the Airbus began to descend, the object remained fixed in altitude," he added, "It was finally obscured by scudding high cloud. It will appear to have been stationary, and in the last minutes of observation, I placed it at an altitude of approximately 45,000 to 50,000 feet approximately 50 miles from the aircraft. The object was white, long, and cylindrical, with no obvious features. It was pencil thin, with rounded ends, also white." Miles stated that he believes his plane was "a bit south of Birmingham" when he spotted the UFO. "There was complete cloud cover below, so no recognisable city could be seen. It would have been 25 minutes before landing. It was still in view up to the final descent, which would have been 10 minutes before landing. So that the total time in view was 15 minutes." If Miles's estimate of 50 miles is accurate, the giant UFO would have been hovering over Gloucestershire, perhaps near Cheltenham, Winchcomb or Northleach. (Email Interview) SECOND BLUE FIREBALL SIZZLES OVER CALIFORNIA On Thursday night, February 11, 1999, at about 7 p.m., another "blue fireball" lit up the night sky of northern California...and this one had tail fins! "People from San Francisco to Sacramento (California's state capital--J.T.) reported seeing the bright light about 7 p.m." "One Sacramento resident said the object 'was flying higher than the tops of trees' and appeared to have 'rocket fins above the tail.'" "One astronomer who did not see the light said it was most likely a fireball or meteor. Officials at nearby (U.S.) Air Force bases said the military launched no missiles in the area last night." (See the Modesto, Cal. Bee for February 12, 1999. Many thanks to Ian Darlington and Errol Bruce-Knapp for forwarding this news story.) BLUE UFO SIGHTED BY MANY IN SOUTHWESTERN OHIO On Sunday, February 14, 1999, at 11:15 p.m., hundreds of witnesses between the cities of Dayton and Cincinnati in southwestern Ohio sighted a "blue-colored object with a wispy, luminous trail." Five people called radio station WLW 700 AM in Cincinnati and talked about the UFO on the talk show Sci-Zone. "One caller was a retired cop from Dayton, Ohio (population 185,000) who spotted the object to the northwest of his location." "Another caller was from Milford, Ohio and also reported the object to the north. The object, he said, accompanied a 'flash' before its disappearance behind a tree here." Charles Stuart, a UFO researcher who lives in the Cincinnati area, witnessed the object while driving his car. He reported, "At around 11:15 p.m. Sunday night, February 14, 1999, I observed a bluish-white object descending vertically, disappearing behind a tree-line to the north...This mystery object did not jump up or down before before disappearing on the horizon. In fact, it gave the impression that it landed or impacted only a mile away. My best bet at this time is that the light was probably a large meteor or bolide passing through Earth's atmosphere at high altitude. The light appeared to be the apparent size of a dime at arm's length." (Many thanks to Kenneth Young of Cincinnati UFO Research for this report.) NEW UFO SIGHTING AT NEW JERSEY'S WANAQUE LAKE On Tuesday, February 9, 1999, two boys, Mike and Ryan, hiked up to Wanaque Reservoir in northern New Jersey "to look for UFOs." "We saw two objects over the hill on the horizon," Mike reported, "One was pulsating from a bronze light color to red and at one point was increasing in intensity. They just sat still as we watched and left. We only stayed for ten minutes as it was very cold outdoors. We'll return when it's warmer." New Jersey's Wanaque Reservoir has had a history of UFO activity dating back to its first big flap in 1966. The reservoir is located in Passaic County about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of New York City. (See Filer's Files #7 for 1999. Many thanks to George A. Filer, Eastern director of MUFON, for letting UFO Roundup quote from his newsletter.) ORANGE SPHERE UFOs BACK IN ACTION IN AUSTRALIA Friday night, February 19, 1999, saw orange-sphere UFOs in the skies of two Australian states. In Exford, Vic., at 9:20 p.m., residents reported "bright orange lights seen in the sky for three minutes. They went off and then on again." At 9:33 p.m., residents in Melbourne, capital of Victoria state, reported an overflight of orange lights. At 9:41 p.m., a man in Burn Hill, Vic. telephoned the Australian UFO Research Network Hotline and reported "an orange light in the sky. The UFO was visible for three minutes." In Western Australia, at 9:31 p.m., four people in the town of Hydleburg "said they observed orange balls of light where they were." And in Perth, capital of Western Australia, a caller reported a "strange light in the sky" at 9:32 p.m. that night. (Many thanks to Diane Harrison of Australian UFO Research Network Hotline for these reports.) ECUFOR REQUESTS TIMEOUT IN BLOEMFONTEIN CASE South Africa's Evaluation Centre of UFO Reports (ECUFOR) issued a statement over the weekend, bringing "the attention of all readers and publishing institutions, including the Internet, that the details surrounding an alleged UFO sighting on 5 February 1999 are incorrect." ECUFOR stated that a UFO was sighted in the Bloemfontein area, and that they are presently investigating the case in depth. "ECUFOR is currently investigating the sighting, including the video taken at the time, and will issue a public release once all relevant witness testimonies have been documented and verified...all the video material authenticated. A further public release will be issued once analysis of the video material is complete." (Many thanks to Errol Bruce-Knapp for the ECUFOR press release.) BLACK HELICOPTERS RAID MORE TOWNS IN TEXAS The U.S. Army continued Operation Last Dance last week, with more "night tactical insertion" live-ammunition exercises in several towns near Corpus Christi, Texas. On Friday evening, February 12, 1999, the black helicopters swept into Port Aransas, Texas (population 2,233), located on the northern tip of Mustang Island about 30 miles (48 kilometers) eastward across the bay from Corpus Christi. "Black helicopters flew in low over the city and hovered over some large fuel tanks in a beach area. The tanks are enclosed in a large fenced area. Soldiers dressed in black rappelled by (nylon) rope to the tanks, stayed for a few minutes and then took off again." "Port Aransas mayor Glenn Martin said he didn't know how to answer questions from residents about training because he hadn't been informed." According to the Corpus Christi Caller Times, "'I didn't know what was going on,' Martin said, 'They were calling up asking about a bunch of black helicopters.'" Black helicopters also appeared in San Augustine within a day or two of the Port Aransas exercise. San Augustine (population 2,337) is on Highway 147 approximately 223 miles (367 kilometers) southeast of Dallas. "The town of San Augustine had a confirmed military exercise within the past few days. Residents report they were frightened by black helicopters at night." In an interview with WorldNet Daily, Thomas Sanchez, emergency coordinator with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Kingsville, Texas, said, "They pulled the same stunt in a little county south of us, in a little town called Sarita, population 500. Black helicopters were reported hovering over a private residence with search lights. That incident happened prior to the start of Last Dance," which began in Kingsville on February 8. Sarita is on Highway 77, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Corpus Christi. "Residents in Calallen were badly frightened when Last Dance came to their backyard. This attack took place at an abandoned water plant on the Nueces River along (Interstate Highway) I-37. Homes and an apartment complex are located within a hundred yards, according to residents. Police had surrounded the area to keep bystanders away, and printed notices were placed on residents' doors about 30 minutes before it happened. This notice did not disclose the nature of the exercise." Black helicopters were also spotted in San Antonio, Annaville and in Austin, the state capital. "Carol Darby, a spokeswoman for the Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg" in North Carolina told WorldNet Daily "that the public is never notified before such exercises because it poses a security risk and also a danger to residents, who tend to gather and watch." "Darby has said that as the world grown more urban, it is important for Special Forces to practice their skills in a variety of urban environments." On Tuesday, February 16, 1999, about 100 Delta Force troopers flew from California to Texas to participate in the final exercise of Operation Last Dance. "The elite group of 100 is trained to fight terrorists in an urban environment. They have arrived at Corpus Christi Naval Station and Fort Sam Houston for the last days of the training exercise that has caused so much controversy." (See the Corpus Christi Caller Times for February 13, 1999, "Military training disrupts Port A residents." See also WorldNet Daily for February 12, 1999, "Port Aransas, Texas attacked;" for February 13, 1999, "Armed and Dangerous--Is the Army invading Texas?" and February 18, 1999, "Yes, Texas, there are black helicopters" by David M. Bresnahan.) MEXICAN PYRAMID MUCH OLDER THAN EXPECTED Proceedings of the Fourth International Maya Congress in Antigua, Guatemala produced some surprises about the Mayan pyramid of Comalcalco. The small city of Comalcalco is located in Mexico's Tabasco state about 410 kilometers (246 miles) east of Mexico City. "The papers presented" at the conference "discussed an excavation which Gordo Eckholm began at Comalcalco's Temple 2 site. At the top of the temple, into its floor, Eckholm dug a trench, which revealed thirty-eight previous flooring levels. These levels, of course, imply a very long occupation. Floorings can be estimated to last twenty to thirty years; therefore it could be supposed that the levels would suggest eight or nine hundred years of occupation at the site." "Since most researchers agrees that Comalcalco terminated its building period between 1000 and 1200 A.D., estimates date the first flooring back to 100 or 200 A.D." "Eckholm's drawings are quite specific. Under the last or lowest floor, they show the stucco covering of a clay mound, which was the base of the temple itself. This mound dated much earlier than Maya times." (See Ancient American volume 4, number 26, Winter 1999, "Mexico's pyramidal Comalcalco--a thousand years older than suspected," by Neil Steede, page 16) (Editor's Comment: This suggests that the original Comalcalco mound pyramid--like the one at Cahokia, Illinois, USA--was a sacred site for hundreds of years before the rise of the Mayan civilization.) from the UFO Files... 1954: ALIEN LANDS AT LOSSIEMOUTH A strange encounter between a human and a reputed alien took place at Lossiemouth, in northeastern Scotland, on February 18, 1954. "Writer, amateur astronomer and ornithologist Cedric Allingham claimed that he saw a flying saucer land near Lossiemouth, on the north- eastern cost of Scotland." "A 'man' some six feet tall emerged from the craft and approached Allingham. This being was said to be human-like in most respects, and appeared to differ only in that he had a very high forehead. He wore a one-piece garb with footwear incorporated, but no helmet. He also had tiny tubes running up into his nostrils, and the witness considered these to be part of a breathing aid." "According to the witness in his published account, he and the 'man' contrived to converse by signs, and it is claimed that the visitor indicated that he came from Mars. Photographs of both the saucer and the 'Martian' were taken and published in support of this claim." (See THE HUMANOIDS, edited by Charles Bowen, Henry Regnery Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1969, pages 14 and 15. See also FLYING SAUCER FROM MARS by Cedric Allingham, Frederick Muller Books, London, 1956.) FUN UFO WEBSITESUFOSeek has a new Paranormal and UFO Search Engine. Check it out at http://www.ufoseek.com Rick Fowler has a nice array of UFO events in Canada's Saskatchewan province at his new website. Drop in any time at this URL: http://duke.usask.ca/~fowlerr/u.html Don't miss our parent site, UFOINFO. We're now linked directly to Wally's World. Check out the links, photos, features and news stories available at http://ufoinfo.com Back issues of UFO Roundup can be read, accessed and downloaded at our webpage. Come on in and browse at http://ufoinfo.com/roundup/ That's it for this week. We'll be back next week with more saucer news from around the planet, brought to you by "the paper that goes home--UFO Roundup." See you then. UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 1999 by Masinaigan Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post news items from UFO Roundup on their websites or in newsgroups, provided that they credit the newsletter and its editor by name and list the date of issue in which the item first appeared.
