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This article was written by British UFO researcher Graham Birdsaw, editor of the British UFO Magazine. It's very long, I know, but I hope it's not too boring. I made some corrections in it, especially in the names that were misspelled.
The São Paulo International Airport actually is in the city of Guarulhos, just outside of the city of São Paulo. Campinas is about 95 km far from the city of São Paulo.
Curitiba is in the State of Paraná, in the South of Brazil. Minas Gerais is in the Southeast. Varginha and Três Corações are in the South of Minas Gerais. The capital city of Minas Gerais is Belo Horizonte.
CINDACTA = Centro Integrado de Defesa Aérea e Controle de Tráfego Aéreo = Integrated Center for Air Defense and Air Traffic Control
CINDACTA I - Brasília
CINDACTA II - Curitiba
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE VARGINHA INCIDENT
By Graham Birdsall
On 20 January 1996, an extra-ordinary UFO incident occurred in the city of Varginha, situated in the Southern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Allegations that two extraterrestrials had been captured by the authorities then began to emerge via the UFO grapevine and several Brazilian UFO publications. Graham W. Birdsall was contacted by senior Brazilian Ufologist A. J. Gaevard, and was left in little doubt that something of major significance had indeed taken place. Now judge for yourselves, as we examine what is potentially the most important UFO incident to have occurred in decades.
On Wednesday, 5 June, I flew from Heathrow Airport in London to Rio de Janeiro, accompanied by my wife Christine, to attend a major UFO conference in Curitiba, Brazil. The 14th Congresso Brasileiro de Ufologia Científica afforded me the opportunity to learn more about the extraordinary events that had allegedly taken place earlier in the year in Varginha.
The Varig Airline staff were courteous and helpful throughout our eleven hour DC-10 flight to Rio de Janeiro. The flight itself was uneventful, but while at the main terminal building awaiting our connecting flight to Curitiba, a glint in the early morning sky caught my attention.
What looked like brilliantly-lit flares had appeared high in the eastern sky, followed by a large, tube-like object stood on its end. It was 7.00am in the morning and I couldn't believe my good fortune. Out came the camcorder, a manual fix was obtained, and I managed to film for several minutes through expansive windows as the object moved across the clear and crisp blue sky. I certainly intend showing the footage at our Leeds conference in September, along with another segment that I managed to film for several minutes in Curitiba the very next morning on Friday, 7th June, when, would you believe, another object put in an appearance right over the conference venue itself. Welcome to Brazil!
John Carpenter, an abduction investigator from the United States managed to film the second event alongside me, and he it was who come to play an important role in the coming days ahead alongside Stanton T. Friedman, nuclear physicist and UFO researcher. Other international speakers who joined us in Curitiba were Roberto Pinotti from Italy, famous American UFO abductee Travis Walton, and researcher Salvador Freixedo from Spain.
Representatives from over 50 Brazilian UFO organisations descended on Curitiba for the three-day event, and the warm and friendly welcome we were extended was truly memorable. There was a genuine and refreshing interchange of dialogue and information, an outpouring of emotion, and a clear indication that one topic, above all else, was on everyone's minds - Varginha.
The conference centre was a hub of activity from early morning until dusk. When intervals occurred, hundreds would gather outside, keen to talk further about what they had just seen and heard minutes before, ever patient as translators repeated relevant topics of interest.
One of the most taxing experiences for foreign delegates who lecture overseas, and where the majority of the audience don't speak English, is having to pause while a sentence or two is translated by an interpreter. Often this results in a doubling-up of time spent on stage, but the audience were marvellously patient and keen to learn as much as they could about events taking place thousands of miles away in distant lands.
The media in Brazil were there in force, and along with other speakers, I found myself being questioned by a variety of journalists. One television interview given by Stanton and myself was broadcast right across Brazil, to an audience of tens of millions. Articles also appeared in several regional and national newspapers alongside text that none of the English-speaking delegates could understand, though we were told the Brazilian press had covered the conference very seriously indeed.
My lecture on the Saturday morning (8 June) was followed by Stanton T. Friedman and Travis Walton. Come late evening, a hush descended in the audience as the two smartly dressed principal investigators of the Varginha incident took to the stage. Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues and Vitório Pacaccini began their joint one-and-a-half hour presentation recounting earlier UFO incidents which had occurred in and around Varginha.
John Carpenter, Stanton T. Friedman and I, were among those who chose to stand at the back and prick our ears up to an interpreter who had offered to translate the entire talk for our benefit. One of the curious aspects about Brazilian UFO research, is how artists' impressions of various events feature so prominently in a wide variety of their respective publications. Thus, artistic renderings began with slides of a curious creature seen by Varginha residents early on the morning of Saturday, 20 January. These were then followed by photographs, and further artists' impressions of three young girls who stumbled across a similar creature in the afternoon of that same day.
Military officials, drawn in dramatic poses, were seen capturing one of the creatures, before the scene switched to photographs of hospital buildings, and diagrams of medical staff stood over a small coffin-like box.
It was difficult to have every word and sentence explained, albeit through an able interpreter, but Stanton, John and I had heard and seen enough in those 90 minutes to form a shared opinion - something incredible had indeed taken place at Varginha.
Having already digested a considerable amount of information about the incident from representatives of many Brazilian UFO groups prior to the main lecture, the three of us invited Vitório Pacaccini to speak about the case, and his involvement, in the privacy of a hotel room.
Pacaccini immediately accepted our invitation, and before long, the four of us were sitting comfortably, with two cameras trained on a man whose mastery of the English language helped enormously.
For the next two hours, we listened intently, pausing only to ask questions, as the full astonishing events at Varginha unfolded. At the end, as Pacaccini retired for the evening, we were left to ponder over dinner the enormous implications of what had been disclosed.
There are two vitally important features about the Varginha case which cannot be over-emphasised:
Firstly, Pacaccini and the other principal researchers are capable field investigators - not armchair Ufologists. Pacacini has been involved in UFO investigation for 18 years.
Secondly, the information only surfaced in huge quantities because the investigators were quickly on the scene, interviewing and taping dozens of key witnesses, before the authorities could enforce a clampdown.
I returned to England on 13 June, and the following information, photographs and drawings, will hopefully offer readers an insight into these extraordinary events...
THE FLYING 'SUBMARINE'
In the days leading up to 20 January 1996, there had been hundreds of UFO reports made from frightened witnesses in and around the Varginha region. Afrânio da Costa Brasil, 31, and his nine-year-old daughter Emeline, observed a strange looking craft which hovered close to their home on 13 January. The diagram of the craft drawn by Emeline would later prove to be extremely relevant. The intense UFO activity involved scores of reports from car owners, some of whom were convinced they were being followed by a strange glowing craft.
Then in the early hours of Saturday, 20 January, farmer Eurico de Freitas and his common-law wife Oralina Augusta, were roused from their beds at 1.00am by the noise of their horses who had obviously been disturbed. The couple's three dogs were barking furiously, as they nervously made their way outside, only to be greeted by an unexpected sight.
Both watched dumbfounded as a grey-coloured object moved silently across fields some five metres above the ground. It continued away in the distance before disappearing into the night.
Eurico described the object's shape as similar to that of a 'submarine', and said it was emitting some kind of smoke. Oralina said it was a flying 'cigar' but made no sound. The couple's description of the object tallied exactly with that seen by Afrânio da Costa Brasil and his daughter just a week earlier.
FIRST ENCOUNTER
Approximately 10km from the farm, lies the northern suburb of Jardim Andere, in the city of Varginha (pop. 180,000). At 8.00am on the morning of Saturday, 20 January, an anonymous telephone call was made to the Varginha City Fire Department (Corpo de Bombeiros de Varginha) urging them to attend to a mysterious creature which had been seen in a park in the Jardim Andere district. [Bombeiros is Portuegese for firemen]
It is not unusual in Brazil for wild and dangerous animals to wander into populated areas, and it just so happens that the Fire Department is charged with the responsibility of attending to such matters.
At approximately 10.00am that morning, a City Fire truck duly arrived on the scene, and parked atop a brow overlooking the edges of the park outside number 3, Switzerland Street. They arrived with cages and nets, expecting to have to deal with a wild animal, possibly a jaguar or peccary, but on making their way down a steep slope towards woodland, they were confronted by a creature the likes of which they had never set eyes on before. There before them, crouched a small three-and-a-half feet tall biped, with blood-red eyes, and strange oily-brown coloured skin. Apparently injured, the creature had three distinguished raised humps atop its forehead.
The firefighters immediately descended on the creature, and with some difficulty, finally managed to capture it in a net. Pacaccini later told me that the creature had a very small opening for a mouth, and made a strange 'buzzing sound', not unlike a swarm of bees.
While firefighters were engaged in capturing the creature, the officer in charge had placed a call to the Escola de Sargentos das Armas (School of Sgt. at Arms) base at Três Corações, 25Km away. The Commandant at the base, Gen. Sérgio Coelho Lima, immediately ordered troops to the area to seal off the park.
Builder's assistant, Henrique José, saw everything from the rooftop of a nearby house. He later told investigators that four firemen were involved in the capture of the creature, and after it had placed into a wooden box and handed to the military, everyone quickly left the scene. The creature was then taken to the Sergeants' School at Três Corações, birthplace of the famous Brazilian footballer, Pelé (Christiano: soccer player, for Americans).
SECOND ENCOUNTER
Around 3.30pm that same day, three young girls were returning home from their job as housemaids in the Jardim Andere district when they too stumbled across a creature crouched outside a building identified as number 76, Benevenuto Brás Vieira Street. This adjoins empty land close to where the first creature had been captured.
The girls, Liliane Fátima Silva, 16, her younger sister Valquíria Fátima Silva, 14, and a friend, Kátia Andrade Xavier, 22, stopped in their tracks just 25 feet away from the creature which, because of its three raised humps on the forehead and shocking appearance, they thought was 'the devil.' Absolutely terrified, they ran screaming from the scene.
An elderly woman and young girl, alerted by the commotion, saw the three girls run away, and stood some distance from the creature, keeping it constantly in their sight.
The girls soon arrived at the home of Luíza Silva, mother to Liliane and Valquíria, and she listened in astonishment to their tale. Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered in Benevenuto Bras Vieira Street. They watched firemen and military personnel, alerted by telephone calls from worried residents, capture the creature with nets before quickly departing.
Liliane Fátima Silva, Valquíria Fátima Silva and Kátia Andrade Xavier point to the precise location of where they saw the creature.
Pacaccini told me that as firemen attempted to capture the creature, some of the younger children in the crowd had been seen to throw stones at it. It was by all accounts a pathetic scene, as the injured creature made a 'buzzing sound' as it was carried away.
Local UFO researcher Ubirijara Franco Rodrigues had been alerted to the 3.30pm incident through a series of telephone calls. He was at that time, unaware of events that had transpired earlier in the day. He interviewed all three girls and was immediately impressed by their sincerity and honesty. He also noted they were still heavily shocked and traumatized by the experience.
By a curious hand of fate, another UFO researcher Vitório Pacaccini, had been made aware of the morning's events, but knew nothing about the afternoon encounter. Inevitably, the two Ufologists crossed paths as they sought out witnesses, and one can imagine their complete surprise at discovering they had two completely independent incidents on their hands involving the possible capture of extraterrestrials.
UNRAVELLING THE MYSTERY
Teams of Brazilian UFO researchers poured into Varginha, intent on seeking out first-hand accounts of what had transpired. Public meetings were held, the press were notified, leaflets distributed, and before long, over 60 witnesses had come forward.
Hundreds of leaflets like this were distributed and posted around Varginha in an effort to locate new witnesses. It read: "If you have some information about this case, talk with us - Thankyou!"
Incredible though it may seem, several of the people interviewed were from the military. In a close-knit community such as this, many families have relations serving in the armed forces, and the 20 January incident had been openly discussed across breakfast tables. Before long, researchers were told that someone's brother or husband had been present at a particular scene, had travelled with a convoy of military trucks, had been involved in the removal of a creature from a certain hospital. Names and ranks were offered, and investigators wasted no time in seeking them out.
There was absolutely no doubt that two separate incidents had occurred on 20 January in the Jardim Andere district of the city , but what happened after that? As witness upon witness came forward with their accounts, gradually a picture began to emerge, and pieces of the puzzle began to fit into place.
It is clear that the first creature captured on the Saturday morning was taken to the Sergeants' School at Tres Coracoes. What happened to it after that is uncertain, but those military personnel responsible for the second creature did an incredible thing.
They arrived at the Varginha Regional Hospital late Saturday afternoon, and carried the creature inside. Either the same day, or possibly the following Sunday morning, the injured creature was transferred to Varginha's Humanitas Hospital 1.5Km away, where, according to medical sources, they were better equipped to deal with its injuries.
On Monday, 22 January, three military trucks were seen parked outside Humanitas Hospital between 3.00 - 6.00pm. Medical sources have revealed that by 6.00pm, the creature was dead. A solitary truck entered the hospital grounds through a side entrance, and backed up to a doorway.
The scene on the other side of that doorway has been described by several witnesses who were present. The second creature had been laid out in a small wooden casket, a lid was close by.
A stench, resembling ammonia filled the room. This was interesting, because Luíza Silva, mother of two of the three girls who had come across the creature on the Saturday afternoon, went back to the spot where it had been seen later in the day. She saw footprints, and later told investigators she had almost been overcome by a strong smell - of ammonia.
There were at least 15 doctors present at Humanitas Hospital, crowded into a room occupied by firefighters, police and military figures. One of the doctors was seen to approach the creature holding a pair of forceps. He hovered above its face, prised open a tiny mouth, lowered the forceps inside and then gradually pulled out a black tongue. He released his grip after a few seconds, and the tongue immediately sprang back.
According to eye-witness testimony, the creature had three fingers, and three raised humps on the forehead. There were no sexual organs present, no nipples, no belly-button. There appeared to be joints in the knees, which were grazed and wrinkled. The creature was naked, and its skin appeared shiny, a brown oily colour.
Eventually, the lid to the box was screwed down, and two military figures in face masks and gloves wrapped it in black plastic sheeting before placing it into the back of a truck parked outside.
NAMING NAMES
Among the Brazilian military personnel who were present at the aforementioned scene were: Lt. Col. Olímpio Wanderley Santos (in command of the convoy); Lt. Tibério; Capt. Ramirez; Sgt. Pedrosa (S-2 Military Intelligence and who recorded scenes on a JVC Camera); Cpl. Vassalo; Privates De Mello (they drove the middle truck away from the hospital containing the body) and Cirillo.
These men had travelled from the Escola de Sargentos des Armas, and it's assumed that's where they returned when they left the hospital. In any event, a long convoy of military trucks and private vehicles, distinguished by a leading yellow Volkswagen van, headed out of the Varginha area at 4.00am the following morning, Tuesday, 23 January.
Their 300 kilometer journey took them to the Escola Preparatória de Cadetes em Campinas (Army Cadet School in Campinas) in São Paulo State. It's now known that the creature was then transferred to the Unicamp (University of Campinas).
During our interview with Vitório Pacaccini, he spoke of one witness, a lawyer by profession, who had been travelling by car in the Santana district of Varginha.
He passed several military vehicles parked on the roadside on his way to work, which he thought unusual, more so when he drove past at lunchtime and saw the vehicles hadn't moved. Curious, he parked his car some distance away, and took up a discreet observation point which gave him an excellent view of the scene.
He was surprised to see seven armed men in combat gear, suddenly set off from their stationary vehicles walking line abreast, with several yards between each man, in the direction of nearby woodland.
Shortly after the men disappeared into the woods, the witness jumped as three distinct cracks of rifle shots pierced the air. Moments later, the men reappeared, carrying two body bags. One was seen to move. Throughout this shocking event, two Brazilian Air Force jets circled overhead. The Santana district adjoins Jardim Andere, and is very close to where the three girls had their encounter.
A MYSTERIOUS DEATH
Vitório Pacaccini was frank about all aspects of the case, but there was a measured calm in how he raised yet another disturbing fact which had recently come to light. Apparently, a young policeman who attended the Saturday morning incident had been injured by the creature during attempts to capture it. Two days later, the young man was certified dead at a local hospital. The cause of death was officially given as 'pneumonia.' His family found this hard to believe, and sought to question the authorities further. Their protests fell on deaf ears, and at one point they were told 'to go away.' Forced to proceed with the funeral, they continue to challenge the circumstances of his death, and are hoping to have the body exhumed for an independent autopsy.
ENTER THE AMERICANS
Toward the end of our interview with Pacaccini, we were told of an American intervention in the case. At first, I thought we were about to be told more of the visit by Harvard Psychiatrist John Mack to Varginha, who spent over two hours interviewing the three young girl witnesses, but I was wrong. Mack was invited down by professional colleagues in the area. He is convinced the girls are telling the truth, so much so that he's prepared to tear up his Diploma if proved wrong.
Pacaccini revealed he had recently interviewed a FAB - Força Aérea Brasileira (Brazilian Air Force) radar operator, who told him that the Brazilian Armed Forces (CINDACTA) had been alerted by the United States that they had tracked a UFO entering Brazilian airspace. The advance warning came complete with latitude and longitude coordinates, but the Americans couldn't say whether the UFO was about to land or crash. Pacaccini said this would help to explain why the military authorities were quickly on the scene, for ordinarily, they tend to do things at a leisurely pace. However, he was quick to muse that they didn't move fast enough, and that he and other researchers were on the scene far quicker than either his government or the Americans could ever have envisaged.
If one were to have a crash of any sorts, those empowered with the ultimate responsibility of covering up the matter quickly, must have shed a few hairs when they realised it would be centred on a heavily populated area, and in Brazil of all places.
Pacaccini also revealed he had been subjected to many threats, some made anonymously on the telephone, and was forced on occasions to wear a bullet proof vest . It's now common knowledge that if anyone in the military so much as mentions his name, they are handed an immediate 10-day detention. Indeed, according to latest reports, the crackdown has begun in earnest. Gen. Coelho Lima is reported to have issued an order banning anyone in the military from speaking or having contact with any Brazilian Ufologist. This has not prevented researchers from gleaning new and significant information about the case however.
They now have confirmation that:
* An American civilian was present on the morning of 20 January when the first creature was loaded onto a military truck.
* A C-5 or C-17 USAF transport plane was seen at São Paulo International Airport on 20 January.
* The same aircraft then appeared at Campinas Airport on 22 January.
Pacaccini was convinced that some form of crash retrieval had taken place, but how could he be sure? This was the question uppermost in our minds. Stanton, John and I sought clarification. Pacaccini smiled, then told us that they had witnesses who had seen wreckage being removed from the Varginha area. The hope is, that many more witnesses will come forward, and that among them, might be one or two souvenir hunters...
We also discovered that a Doctor at Humanitas Hospital had called in several medical experts from towns and cities around Varginha to participate in an autopsy on the second creature. Some of those called in were DNA experts.
LOOKING FOR LOST FRIENDS?
The Varginha case is essentially based around the happenings of 20 - 23 January, 1996. It seems extraordinary that so-called intelligent extraterrestrial creatures could find themselves in such a predicament, but who are we to judge?
Consider then, the incredible events of 21 April, almost three months later. Mrs. Terezinha Gallo Clepf, 67, had been enjoying an evening meal at the restaurant in Jardim Zoológico de Varginha (Varginha Zoo Gardens).
At approximately 9.00pm, she left her table to go onto the back porch for a cigarette. It was here, that she almost had a heart attack when she came face to face with a creature she described as exactly the same as that reported earlier. Her description tallied with previous accounts, and her story sent shockwaves throughout the country.
Mrs. Clepf is the last person in the world to concoct an imaginary tale and subject herself to massive public and media attention.
Understandably, immediate questions sprang to mind among Brazilian researchers: Are there still creatures running loose from the 20 January incident? Have their 'friends' returned to look for them? Just three weeks later, a motorist was driving his van round a curve in the road when his headlights picked out a similar creature some 50 metres away. As the shocked driver screeched to a halt, he saw the creature raise its arms to protect blood-red eyes and scamper away into the night. It had either three or four fingers on each hand. Silva then announced that at 10.05pm on 29 April, four strangers called at her home. They offered her 'a large sum of cash' if she could persuade her daughters to lie about their encounter to the media. She refused.
None of the men were Brazilian, and wore white and cream Armani suits. Her husband, José Lopes de Silva, is a bus driver and was out at work at the time. The men said they would be back. Apparently the men departed in a navy-blue 1994 Lincoln Continental vehicle, with Distrito Federal (Brasília) licence plates.
SUMMARY
I have spoken with numerous Brazilian UFO researchers over the course of an entire week, often well into the night. I was present when Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues and Vitório Pacaccini delivered a powerful lecture presentation at the Curitiba Conference. I attended a frank two-hour private exchange Stanton T. Friedman, John Carpenter and I had with Pacaccini.
There can be little doubt that something extraordinary occurred in Varginha. John Carpenter was recently quoted as saying: 'In short, it's a darn good case. I'd say it may be equal to Roswell.'
I know that Stanton T. Friedman is similarly impressed, but the equal of Roswell? Very rarely has it been possible to accumulate so much credible testimony from a purported UFO crash-retrieval case, particularly within hours of it happening, yet that is precisely what the Brazilian researchers have achieved and I unreservedly applaud them for their superb collective effort.
The São Paulo International Airport actually is in the city of Guarulhos, just outside of the city of São Paulo. Campinas is about 95 km far from the city of São Paulo.
Curitiba is in the State of Paraná, in the South of Brazil. Minas Gerais is in the Southeast. Varginha and Três Corações are in the South of Minas Gerais. The capital city of Minas Gerais is Belo Horizonte.
CINDACTA = Centro Integrado de Defesa Aérea e Controle de Tráfego Aéreo = Integrated Center for Air Defense and Air Traffic Control
CINDACTA I - Brasília
CINDACTA II - Curitiba
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THE VARGINHA INCIDENT
By Graham Birdsall
On 20 January 1996, an extra-ordinary UFO incident occurred in the city of Varginha, situated in the Southern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Allegations that two extraterrestrials had been captured by the authorities then began to emerge via the UFO grapevine and several Brazilian UFO publications. Graham W. Birdsall was contacted by senior Brazilian Ufologist A. J. Gaevard, and was left in little doubt that something of major significance had indeed taken place. Now judge for yourselves, as we examine what is potentially the most important UFO incident to have occurred in decades.
On Wednesday, 5 June, I flew from Heathrow Airport in London to Rio de Janeiro, accompanied by my wife Christine, to attend a major UFO conference in Curitiba, Brazil. The 14th Congresso Brasileiro de Ufologia Científica afforded me the opportunity to learn more about the extraordinary events that had allegedly taken place earlier in the year in Varginha.
The Varig Airline staff were courteous and helpful throughout our eleven hour DC-10 flight to Rio de Janeiro. The flight itself was uneventful, but while at the main terminal building awaiting our connecting flight to Curitiba, a glint in the early morning sky caught my attention.
What looked like brilliantly-lit flares had appeared high in the eastern sky, followed by a large, tube-like object stood on its end. It was 7.00am in the morning and I couldn't believe my good fortune. Out came the camcorder, a manual fix was obtained, and I managed to film for several minutes through expansive windows as the object moved across the clear and crisp blue sky. I certainly intend showing the footage at our Leeds conference in September, along with another segment that I managed to film for several minutes in Curitiba the very next morning on Friday, 7th June, when, would you believe, another object put in an appearance right over the conference venue itself. Welcome to Brazil!
John Carpenter, an abduction investigator from the United States managed to film the second event alongside me, and he it was who come to play an important role in the coming days ahead alongside Stanton T. Friedman, nuclear physicist and UFO researcher. Other international speakers who joined us in Curitiba were Roberto Pinotti from Italy, famous American UFO abductee Travis Walton, and researcher Salvador Freixedo from Spain.
Representatives from over 50 Brazilian UFO organisations descended on Curitiba for the three-day event, and the warm and friendly welcome we were extended was truly memorable. There was a genuine and refreshing interchange of dialogue and information, an outpouring of emotion, and a clear indication that one topic, above all else, was on everyone's minds - Varginha.
The conference centre was a hub of activity from early morning until dusk. When intervals occurred, hundreds would gather outside, keen to talk further about what they had just seen and heard minutes before, ever patient as translators repeated relevant topics of interest.
One of the most taxing experiences for foreign delegates who lecture overseas, and where the majority of the audience don't speak English, is having to pause while a sentence or two is translated by an interpreter. Often this results in a doubling-up of time spent on stage, but the audience were marvellously patient and keen to learn as much as they could about events taking place thousands of miles away in distant lands.
The media in Brazil were there in force, and along with other speakers, I found myself being questioned by a variety of journalists. One television interview given by Stanton and myself was broadcast right across Brazil, to an audience of tens of millions. Articles also appeared in several regional and national newspapers alongside text that none of the English-speaking delegates could understand, though we were told the Brazilian press had covered the conference very seriously indeed.
My lecture on the Saturday morning (8 June) was followed by Stanton T. Friedman and Travis Walton. Come late evening, a hush descended in the audience as the two smartly dressed principal investigators of the Varginha incident took to the stage. Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues and Vitório Pacaccini began their joint one-and-a-half hour presentation recounting earlier UFO incidents which had occurred in and around Varginha.
John Carpenter, Stanton T. Friedman and I, were among those who chose to stand at the back and prick our ears up to an interpreter who had offered to translate the entire talk for our benefit. One of the curious aspects about Brazilian UFO research, is how artists' impressions of various events feature so prominently in a wide variety of their respective publications. Thus, artistic renderings began with slides of a curious creature seen by Varginha residents early on the morning of Saturday, 20 January. These were then followed by photographs, and further artists' impressions of three young girls who stumbled across a similar creature in the afternoon of that same day.
Military officials, drawn in dramatic poses, were seen capturing one of the creatures, before the scene switched to photographs of hospital buildings, and diagrams of medical staff stood over a small coffin-like box.
It was difficult to have every word and sentence explained, albeit through an able interpreter, but Stanton, John and I had heard and seen enough in those 90 minutes to form a shared opinion - something incredible had indeed taken place at Varginha.
Having already digested a considerable amount of information about the incident from representatives of many Brazilian UFO groups prior to the main lecture, the three of us invited Vitório Pacaccini to speak about the case, and his involvement, in the privacy of a hotel room.
Pacaccini immediately accepted our invitation, and before long, the four of us were sitting comfortably, with two cameras trained on a man whose mastery of the English language helped enormously.
For the next two hours, we listened intently, pausing only to ask questions, as the full astonishing events at Varginha unfolded. At the end, as Pacaccini retired for the evening, we were left to ponder over dinner the enormous implications of what had been disclosed.
There are two vitally important features about the Varginha case which cannot be over-emphasised:
Firstly, Pacaccini and the other principal researchers are capable field investigators - not armchair Ufologists. Pacacini has been involved in UFO investigation for 18 years.
Secondly, the information only surfaced in huge quantities because the investigators were quickly on the scene, interviewing and taping dozens of key witnesses, before the authorities could enforce a clampdown.
I returned to England on 13 June, and the following information, photographs and drawings, will hopefully offer readers an insight into these extraordinary events...
THE FLYING 'SUBMARINE'
In the days leading up to 20 January 1996, there had been hundreds of UFO reports made from frightened witnesses in and around the Varginha region. Afrânio da Costa Brasil, 31, and his nine-year-old daughter Emeline, observed a strange looking craft which hovered close to their home on 13 January. The diagram of the craft drawn by Emeline would later prove to be extremely relevant. The intense UFO activity involved scores of reports from car owners, some of whom were convinced they were being followed by a strange glowing craft.
Then in the early hours of Saturday, 20 January, farmer Eurico de Freitas and his common-law wife Oralina Augusta, were roused from their beds at 1.00am by the noise of their horses who had obviously been disturbed. The couple's three dogs were barking furiously, as they nervously made their way outside, only to be greeted by an unexpected sight.
Both watched dumbfounded as a grey-coloured object moved silently across fields some five metres above the ground. It continued away in the distance before disappearing into the night.
Eurico described the object's shape as similar to that of a 'submarine', and said it was emitting some kind of smoke. Oralina said it was a flying 'cigar' but made no sound. The couple's description of the object tallied exactly with that seen by Afrânio da Costa Brasil and his daughter just a week earlier.
FIRST ENCOUNTER
Approximately 10km from the farm, lies the northern suburb of Jardim Andere, in the city of Varginha (pop. 180,000). At 8.00am on the morning of Saturday, 20 January, an anonymous telephone call was made to the Varginha City Fire Department (Corpo de Bombeiros de Varginha) urging them to attend to a mysterious creature which had been seen in a park in the Jardim Andere district. [Bombeiros is Portuegese for firemen]
It is not unusual in Brazil for wild and dangerous animals to wander into populated areas, and it just so happens that the Fire Department is charged with the responsibility of attending to such matters.
At approximately 10.00am that morning, a City Fire truck duly arrived on the scene, and parked atop a brow overlooking the edges of the park outside number 3, Switzerland Street. They arrived with cages and nets, expecting to have to deal with a wild animal, possibly a jaguar or peccary, but on making their way down a steep slope towards woodland, they were confronted by a creature the likes of which they had never set eyes on before. There before them, crouched a small three-and-a-half feet tall biped, with blood-red eyes, and strange oily-brown coloured skin. Apparently injured, the creature had three distinguished raised humps atop its forehead.
The firefighters immediately descended on the creature, and with some difficulty, finally managed to capture it in a net. Pacaccini later told me that the creature had a very small opening for a mouth, and made a strange 'buzzing sound', not unlike a swarm of bees.
While firefighters were engaged in capturing the creature, the officer in charge had placed a call to the Escola de Sargentos das Armas (School of Sgt. at Arms) base at Três Corações, 25Km away. The Commandant at the base, Gen. Sérgio Coelho Lima, immediately ordered troops to the area to seal off the park.
Builder's assistant, Henrique José, saw everything from the rooftop of a nearby house. He later told investigators that four firemen were involved in the capture of the creature, and after it had placed into a wooden box and handed to the military, everyone quickly left the scene. The creature was then taken to the Sergeants' School at Três Corações, birthplace of the famous Brazilian footballer, Pelé (Christiano: soccer player, for Americans).
SECOND ENCOUNTER
Around 3.30pm that same day, three young girls were returning home from their job as housemaids in the Jardim Andere district when they too stumbled across a creature crouched outside a building identified as number 76, Benevenuto Brás Vieira Street. This adjoins empty land close to where the first creature had been captured.
The girls, Liliane Fátima Silva, 16, her younger sister Valquíria Fátima Silva, 14, and a friend, Kátia Andrade Xavier, 22, stopped in their tracks just 25 feet away from the creature which, because of its three raised humps on the forehead and shocking appearance, they thought was 'the devil.' Absolutely terrified, they ran screaming from the scene.
An elderly woman and young girl, alerted by the commotion, saw the three girls run away, and stood some distance from the creature, keeping it constantly in their sight.
The girls soon arrived at the home of Luíza Silva, mother to Liliane and Valquíria, and she listened in astonishment to their tale. Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered in Benevenuto Bras Vieira Street. They watched firemen and military personnel, alerted by telephone calls from worried residents, capture the creature with nets before quickly departing.
Liliane Fátima Silva, Valquíria Fátima Silva and Kátia Andrade Xavier point to the precise location of where they saw the creature.
Pacaccini told me that as firemen attempted to capture the creature, some of the younger children in the crowd had been seen to throw stones at it. It was by all accounts a pathetic scene, as the injured creature made a 'buzzing sound' as it was carried away.
Local UFO researcher Ubirijara Franco Rodrigues had been alerted to the 3.30pm incident through a series of telephone calls. He was at that time, unaware of events that had transpired earlier in the day. He interviewed all three girls and was immediately impressed by their sincerity and honesty. He also noted they were still heavily shocked and traumatized by the experience.
By a curious hand of fate, another UFO researcher Vitório Pacaccini, had been made aware of the morning's events, but knew nothing about the afternoon encounter. Inevitably, the two Ufologists crossed paths as they sought out witnesses, and one can imagine their complete surprise at discovering they had two completely independent incidents on their hands involving the possible capture of extraterrestrials.
UNRAVELLING THE MYSTERY
Teams of Brazilian UFO researchers poured into Varginha, intent on seeking out first-hand accounts of what had transpired. Public meetings were held, the press were notified, leaflets distributed, and before long, over 60 witnesses had come forward.
Hundreds of leaflets like this were distributed and posted around Varginha in an effort to locate new witnesses. It read: "If you have some information about this case, talk with us - Thankyou!"
Incredible though it may seem, several of the people interviewed were from the military. In a close-knit community such as this, many families have relations serving in the armed forces, and the 20 January incident had been openly discussed across breakfast tables. Before long, researchers were told that someone's brother or husband had been present at a particular scene, had travelled with a convoy of military trucks, had been involved in the removal of a creature from a certain hospital. Names and ranks were offered, and investigators wasted no time in seeking them out.
There was absolutely no doubt that two separate incidents had occurred on 20 January in the Jardim Andere district of the city , but what happened after that? As witness upon witness came forward with their accounts, gradually a picture began to emerge, and pieces of the puzzle began to fit into place.
It is clear that the first creature captured on the Saturday morning was taken to the Sergeants' School at Tres Coracoes. What happened to it after that is uncertain, but those military personnel responsible for the second creature did an incredible thing.
They arrived at the Varginha Regional Hospital late Saturday afternoon, and carried the creature inside. Either the same day, or possibly the following Sunday morning, the injured creature was transferred to Varginha's Humanitas Hospital 1.5Km away, where, according to medical sources, they were better equipped to deal with its injuries.
On Monday, 22 January, three military trucks were seen parked outside Humanitas Hospital between 3.00 - 6.00pm. Medical sources have revealed that by 6.00pm, the creature was dead. A solitary truck entered the hospital grounds through a side entrance, and backed up to a doorway.
The scene on the other side of that doorway has been described by several witnesses who were present. The second creature had been laid out in a small wooden casket, a lid was close by.
A stench, resembling ammonia filled the room. This was interesting, because Luíza Silva, mother of two of the three girls who had come across the creature on the Saturday afternoon, went back to the spot where it had been seen later in the day. She saw footprints, and later told investigators she had almost been overcome by a strong smell - of ammonia.
There were at least 15 doctors present at Humanitas Hospital, crowded into a room occupied by firefighters, police and military figures. One of the doctors was seen to approach the creature holding a pair of forceps. He hovered above its face, prised open a tiny mouth, lowered the forceps inside and then gradually pulled out a black tongue. He released his grip after a few seconds, and the tongue immediately sprang back.
According to eye-witness testimony, the creature had three fingers, and three raised humps on the forehead. There were no sexual organs present, no nipples, no belly-button. There appeared to be joints in the knees, which were grazed and wrinkled. The creature was naked, and its skin appeared shiny, a brown oily colour.
Eventually, the lid to the box was screwed down, and two military figures in face masks and gloves wrapped it in black plastic sheeting before placing it into the back of a truck parked outside.
NAMING NAMES
Among the Brazilian military personnel who were present at the aforementioned scene were: Lt. Col. Olímpio Wanderley Santos (in command of the convoy); Lt. Tibério; Capt. Ramirez; Sgt. Pedrosa (S-2 Military Intelligence and who recorded scenes on a JVC Camera); Cpl. Vassalo; Privates De Mello (they drove the middle truck away from the hospital containing the body) and Cirillo.
These men had travelled from the Escola de Sargentos des Armas, and it's assumed that's where they returned when they left the hospital. In any event, a long convoy of military trucks and private vehicles, distinguished by a leading yellow Volkswagen van, headed out of the Varginha area at 4.00am the following morning, Tuesday, 23 January.
Their 300 kilometer journey took them to the Escola Preparatória de Cadetes em Campinas (Army Cadet School in Campinas) in São Paulo State. It's now known that the creature was then transferred to the Unicamp (University of Campinas).
During our interview with Vitório Pacaccini, he spoke of one witness, a lawyer by profession, who had been travelling by car in the Santana district of Varginha.
He passed several military vehicles parked on the roadside on his way to work, which he thought unusual, more so when he drove past at lunchtime and saw the vehicles hadn't moved. Curious, he parked his car some distance away, and took up a discreet observation point which gave him an excellent view of the scene.
He was surprised to see seven armed men in combat gear, suddenly set off from their stationary vehicles walking line abreast, with several yards between each man, in the direction of nearby woodland.
Shortly after the men disappeared into the woods, the witness jumped as three distinct cracks of rifle shots pierced the air. Moments later, the men reappeared, carrying two body bags. One was seen to move. Throughout this shocking event, two Brazilian Air Force jets circled overhead. The Santana district adjoins Jardim Andere, and is very close to where the three girls had their encounter.
A MYSTERIOUS DEATH
Vitório Pacaccini was frank about all aspects of the case, but there was a measured calm in how he raised yet another disturbing fact which had recently come to light. Apparently, a young policeman who attended the Saturday morning incident had been injured by the creature during attempts to capture it. Two days later, the young man was certified dead at a local hospital. The cause of death was officially given as 'pneumonia.' His family found this hard to believe, and sought to question the authorities further. Their protests fell on deaf ears, and at one point they were told 'to go away.' Forced to proceed with the funeral, they continue to challenge the circumstances of his death, and are hoping to have the body exhumed for an independent autopsy.
ENTER THE AMERICANS
Toward the end of our interview with Pacaccini, we were told of an American intervention in the case. At first, I thought we were about to be told more of the visit by Harvard Psychiatrist John Mack to Varginha, who spent over two hours interviewing the three young girl witnesses, but I was wrong. Mack was invited down by professional colleagues in the area. He is convinced the girls are telling the truth, so much so that he's prepared to tear up his Diploma if proved wrong.
Pacaccini revealed he had recently interviewed a FAB - Força Aérea Brasileira (Brazilian Air Force) radar operator, who told him that the Brazilian Armed Forces (CINDACTA) had been alerted by the United States that they had tracked a UFO entering Brazilian airspace. The advance warning came complete with latitude and longitude coordinates, but the Americans couldn't say whether the UFO was about to land or crash. Pacaccini said this would help to explain why the military authorities were quickly on the scene, for ordinarily, they tend to do things at a leisurely pace. However, he was quick to muse that they didn't move fast enough, and that he and other researchers were on the scene far quicker than either his government or the Americans could ever have envisaged.
If one were to have a crash of any sorts, those empowered with the ultimate responsibility of covering up the matter quickly, must have shed a few hairs when they realised it would be centred on a heavily populated area, and in Brazil of all places.
Pacaccini also revealed he had been subjected to many threats, some made anonymously on the telephone, and was forced on occasions to wear a bullet proof vest . It's now common knowledge that if anyone in the military so much as mentions his name, they are handed an immediate 10-day detention. Indeed, according to latest reports, the crackdown has begun in earnest. Gen. Coelho Lima is reported to have issued an order banning anyone in the military from speaking or having contact with any Brazilian Ufologist. This has not prevented researchers from gleaning new and significant information about the case however.
They now have confirmation that:
* An American civilian was present on the morning of 20 January when the first creature was loaded onto a military truck.
* A C-5 or C-17 USAF transport plane was seen at São Paulo International Airport on 20 January.
* The same aircraft then appeared at Campinas Airport on 22 January.
Pacaccini was convinced that some form of crash retrieval had taken place, but how could he be sure? This was the question uppermost in our minds. Stanton, John and I sought clarification. Pacaccini smiled, then told us that they had witnesses who had seen wreckage being removed from the Varginha area. The hope is, that many more witnesses will come forward, and that among them, might be one or two souvenir hunters...
We also discovered that a Doctor at Humanitas Hospital had called in several medical experts from towns and cities around Varginha to participate in an autopsy on the second creature. Some of those called in were DNA experts.
LOOKING FOR LOST FRIENDS?
The Varginha case is essentially based around the happenings of 20 - 23 January, 1996. It seems extraordinary that so-called intelligent extraterrestrial creatures could find themselves in such a predicament, but who are we to judge?
Consider then, the incredible events of 21 April, almost three months later. Mrs. Terezinha Gallo Clepf, 67, had been enjoying an evening meal at the restaurant in Jardim Zoológico de Varginha (Varginha Zoo Gardens).
At approximately 9.00pm, she left her table to go onto the back porch for a cigarette. It was here, that she almost had a heart attack when she came face to face with a creature she described as exactly the same as that reported earlier. Her description tallied with previous accounts, and her story sent shockwaves throughout the country.
Mrs. Clepf is the last person in the world to concoct an imaginary tale and subject herself to massive public and media attention.
Understandably, immediate questions sprang to mind among Brazilian researchers: Are there still creatures running loose from the 20 January incident? Have their 'friends' returned to look for them? Just three weeks later, a motorist was driving his van round a curve in the road when his headlights picked out a similar creature some 50 metres away. As the shocked driver screeched to a halt, he saw the creature raise its arms to protect blood-red eyes and scamper away into the night. It had either three or four fingers on each hand. Silva then announced that at 10.05pm on 29 April, four strangers called at her home. They offered her 'a large sum of cash' if she could persuade her daughters to lie about their encounter to the media. She refused.
None of the men were Brazilian, and wore white and cream Armani suits. Her husband, José Lopes de Silva, is a bus driver and was out at work at the time. The men said they would be back. Apparently the men departed in a navy-blue 1994 Lincoln Continental vehicle, with Distrito Federal (Brasília) licence plates.
SUMMARY
I have spoken with numerous Brazilian UFO researchers over the course of an entire week, often well into the night. I was present when Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues and Vitório Pacaccini delivered a powerful lecture presentation at the Curitiba Conference. I attended a frank two-hour private exchange Stanton T. Friedman, John Carpenter and I had with Pacaccini.
There can be little doubt that something extraordinary occurred in Varginha. John Carpenter was recently quoted as saying: 'In short, it's a darn good case. I'd say it may be equal to Roswell.'
I know that Stanton T. Friedman is similarly impressed, but the equal of Roswell? Very rarely has it been possible to accumulate so much credible testimony from a purported UFO crash-retrieval case, particularly within hours of it happening, yet that is precisely what the Brazilian researchers have achieved and I unreservedly applaud them for their superb collective effort.
- The Wall Street Journal article, and comment:
