One of the forgotten UFO crash incidents witnessed by thousands of people occurred in Bolivia. This event triggered chaos in the US government. The involvement of the US State Department and the CIA played a major role in considering the crashed object in Bolivia as something more than some space debris or meteorite. Perhaps, this particular case from South America is the most credible UFO incident.
It is estimated that hundreds or perhaps thousands of people from Tarija, Bolivia witnessed the crash of a cylindrical UFO with flames on one side over Mount El Taire on the afternoon of May 6, 1978. The boom could be heard 150 miles away from the crash site. In addition, many witnesses reported experiencing the sonic boom knocking them to the ground and shattering the windows of homes that were within a 30-mile radius of the impact. This incident has caused confusion about the origin of the object that has ranged from meteorites to spacecraft to UFOs.
Illustration from the Argentine magazine Gente showing witnesses looking at the cylindrical object from Tarija. The caption in Spanish reads: “Saturday, 6 [May 1978], 5:15 p.m. The strange object falls in Bolivia.” Credit: Huneeus Collection / Gente
Since the accident happened on the border between Argentina and Bolivia, it raised concerns for the governments of both countries. The Argentine authorities sent a border police unit to investigate the matter and search for the wreckage of the object. The police were also convinced that the object was a UFO after hearing from eyewitnesses, as most of them said that it was cylindrical and metallic in nature.
According to Argentine media reports, the UFO shook the Earth at 4:30 p.m. Police officer Juan Hurtado, who witnessed the crash, called the object “a gigantic wine container” emitting a trail of white smoke.
He said: “It flew directly above my head. I was on duty and at that moment talking to three engineers from the La Paz mine, when we saw the object crashing into El Taire mountain. The impact was so strong that it threw me to the ground. The earth shook at that moment.” In addition, the Bolivian Air Force sent its three aircraft to find the crash site.
A CIA report titled “Bolivia Reports Conflicts Over Details of Crashed Object” stated: “We have received another call from our audience requesting confirmation of reports that an unidentified object has crashed in Bolivian territory near the border with Argentina. We can only say that Argentine and Uruguayan radio stations are reporting this even more frequently saying that Bolivian authorities have urgently requested assistance from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration to determine the nature of what crashed on a hill in Bolivian territory.”
The village of La Mamora with the “impact site” on Mount El Zaire in Bolivia. The headline of the Argentine weekly Radiolandia 2000 reads: “When the UFO fell the earth shook and we panicked.” Credit: Huneeus Collection / R. 2000
An Argentine newspaper reported the arrival of two U.S. military personnel, possibly from the Air Force. They were Colonel Robert Simmons and Major John Heise. Reports claim the officers arrived but were seen in civilian clothes. Some reports claim they were instructed to remove the large metal object onto a U.S. Air Force Hercules cargo plane. Just two years later, the U.S. State Department revealed in five declassified documents that Simmons and Heise, from the U.S. Defense Attaché’s Office in La Paz, arrived in Tarija, acting under Project Moon Dust.
Other reliable witnesses to the event were two border police officers from the village of Aguas Blancas, Argentina. They saw an oval-shaped object in the sky while watching a football match. The event was also witnessed by at least 500 people, including the players. According to another eyewitness, the cylindrical object had a pointed head and was 4 meters in diameter.
It was never discovered what actually fell in Bolivia in May 1978, but it was not a meteorite as confirmed by the Smithsonian’s Scientific Event Alert Network.
