On August 17, 1978, Carlos Acevedo and Hugo Prambs, left the city of Buenos Aires in a Citroën GS 1220, #102, on the first leg of the South-American rally "Round South America", organized by the Argentina Automobile Club and the Regional Interchange Bank. The competition they were participating in was a tough one for the men and for the cars. It lasted over a month, joining Buenos Aires to Caracas in Venezuela and returning along the Pacific Coast.
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Left: a Citroën GS 1200 in a rally. |
The crew of car #102 suffered many problems, especially in the final legs of the rally, which caused them to abandon the competition. Because of Acevedo's determination, and other contestants' assistance, they were able to continue, after making official their quitting the competition, with the objective of completing all the legs of the rally. On September 16, in the city of Bariloche, Hugo Prambs left because of personal problems, being replaced by Miguel Angel Moya.
Carlos Acevedo Ramirez was 38 years old. His parents were from Chile, but he was born in Argentina. He had been living in Chile since 1960. He has two elegant shoe stores in Santiago, the capital, located in the most sophisticated part of town. He had two children from a previous marriage, and a 5-year-old child with his second wife Cecilia. He was in a very good financial situation, as evidenced by his participation in the rally for which he had to spend more than $20,000. The investigator of the case found him to be extrovert and easy to get along with.
Miguel Angel Moya was 28 years old. He was born and raised in Santiago, Chile. He was a mechanic, one of the best, according to Acevedo. He was found to be kind of shy and quiet.
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Left: Michel Angel Moy, right Carlos Acevedo, in their #102 car. |
In the early hours of September 23, Acevedo and Moya were traveling the last 1000 kilometers of ther rally. Approximately at 2:00 a.m., they stopped at a gas station in Viedma, province of Rio Negro, where they filled up the 50-liter tank, and a reserve one containing an additional 40 liters. After having some coffee and conversing with other contestants, they left at 2:30 a.m., heading for Bahia Blanca. They crossed the Rio Negro river, and passed through the city of Carmen de Patagones.
Around 3:00 a.m., after going through the intersection of Route 3 and the road to Cardenal Cagliero, they were close to Salitral del Algarrobo and Salina de Piedra, about 30 km north of the city of Carmen de Patagones. Carlos Acevedo was driving.
Suddenly, he saw through the rear-view mirror a very bright light. It seemed to be very dense, and its color was yellow. At first, it was only a point in the distance, increasing in size like if it got closer.
The men were traveling at that time at about 100 km per hour, but despite that, the light seemed to be approaching at very high speed.
Acevedo thought it was the headlights of one of the high performance cars participating in the rally, a Citroen 2400 or a Mercedes Benz. They decided to slow down and keep the car to the extreme right of the road, in order to facilitate the passing of what they supposed to be another contestant.
The light was now occupying the entire rear-view mirror and continued approaching at high speed, until the interior of the Citroën was filled with light. Acevedo reported what happened then:
"The light flooded the interior completely, and I couldn't see any farther than the hood of the car. It was very dense and bright, and its color was yellowish with a violet tint. At that moment the car seemed to be out of control. I looked through the window and saw that we were about two meters off the ground. I immediately thought that we had hit something, flying into the air, and started getting ready for the moment when the car would hit the road again."
But the car, instead of descending, seemed to continue its ascent out of control. Acevedo told:
"After a few seconds, perhaps 5 or 10, I realized that all that was completely abnormal. I tried to look out the window again but the only thing that I could see was that dense light. I remember that I started to shout 'What's the matter?,' but Moya didn't respond. When I looked to my right he wasn't there, or at least I couldn't see him. I couldn't even see the dashboard. I could only see the light, dense, it seemed like liquid, I don't know, kind of sticky."
In the meantime, Miguel Angel Moya felt paralyzed because of the light. He told the investigating ufologist:
"My first thought was also that we had hit something and I was scared of the possibility of turning over. But when I noticed that the car seemed to float in the air and didn't come down I was more scared then. It was truly a situation which I couldn't comprehend. I looked at Carlos - and I saw him rigid, his arms extended grasping the steering wheel, and his eye fixed straight ahead. He seemed to be shouting but I couldn't ear, I was seeing everything as if I were at a distance, somewhere else. I think that my first reaction was to get out of there and I tried to open the door but couldn't - it seemed like glued. I noticed that the temperature started to increase, but maybe it was caused by my being so frightened. Suddenly the light engulfed everything and I couldn't see anything, I think that not even my hands, nothing."
The men then lost all conception of time. Then, they felt a bump and noticed that the car was once again on the road.
Acevedo said:
"I think that a minute had passed, or two, I don't really know, when I felt a bump, soft, but I immediately had the impression that the car was once again on the road. At that instant the yellow light seemed to lose some of its intensity and I started to be able to see the dashboard and the hood. I looked out of the window and saw that we were on firm ground, on the opposite side of the road, in the embankment. The light left the interior of the car and I observed that to the west something like a cone of yellow light was disappearing, but it didn't end in a point, it was cut off. It was about 4 or 5 meters at the base, and 2 or 3 at the cusp, and 6 meters, maybe 7, in height. The base lighted the surrounding area, although I couldn't tell what it was illuminating, in other words, you couldn't see through it. A few seconds later, the light retracted bottom to top, and the only thing that was left in view was a white / yellowish light, oval in shape, that continued its west heading until it disappeared in the distance."
It took a few seconds for Moya to recover from the impression produced by the strange situation that he had just lived. He told:
"All of a sudden everything was over, and we were back on the road. Carlos and I looked at each other but we couldn't say anything. I was stunned, my hands were shaking, and I felt something pressing against my chest; it was difficult to breathe."
Both remained in silence for a few seconds, without attempting any action. Finally, Acevedo stepped from the car "to see if anything was in its place," he recounted. A minute later, he climbed back into the car and drove on North on Route 3.
Having traveled for 15 minutes, the car arrived at Pedro Luro, in the province of Buenos Aires, about 123 km north of Carmen de Patagones. They stopped at a service station to find out the location of the nearest police department and, while checking the instruments in the car, they discovered two things: the odometer indicated that from Viedma to Pedro Luro, they had covered 52 kilometers; besides, they had arrived at Pedro Luro at 5:10 a.m., having passed through Carmen de Patagones at 2:05 a.m., approximately.
Having covered the distance at an average of 100 km.p.h., it should not have taken them more than 75 minutes to cover the distance between the two points; instead, they had consumed 2 hours and 20 minutes.
The men discovered a third unexplainable fact when they decided to fill up the main gas tank again: they observed that the reserve tank was completely empty, in spite of having been filled with 40 liters of gas earlier in Viedma.
All this contributed even more to the witnesses' confusion. Seized by increasing apprehension, they informed the Pedro Luro Police Department. There, they met inspector Daniel Osimi, who was informed in detail of all the events, and was asked by the witnesses to provide them with an escort to the city of Bahia Blanca.
Inspector Osimi, realizing the desperation of the two men, commissioned Corporal J. Garcia to accompany the witnesses to Bahia Blanca, departing a few minutes later, and arriving at the destination around 8:30 a.m.
Guillermo C. Roncoroni, of the Servicio de Investigaciones Ufologicas (SIU), from Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the lead investigator, he interviewed the witnesses and the above is his report. He noted that Miguel Angel Moya seemed to have been affected by the incident in which he participated. Both witnesses gave him a very good impression. Their respective accounts of the incident were very coherent, they did not contradict each other, and responded to all questions without hesitation. He ensures that there is no reason to doubt their testimony.
The two men experienced fright and disorientation during the sighting. Moya remembers having felt "a suffocating heat" when the light engulfed the interior of the car, a strong oppression on his thorax - he could hardly breathe, and an uncontrollable shaking of his hands. The oppression on his thorax and the shaking continued for more than 24 hours. Acevedo stated that, after the incident, his legs felt like asleep, and he had a tingling effect in the dorsal region. Both witnesses related that, during the following nights, it was very difficult to fall asleep and that on several occasions they woke up frightened.
It appeared that the vehicle did not suffer any effects due to this event. The paint was intact and the body and chassis does not seem to have been subjected to any electro-magnetism (compass deviation was insignificant), and no radiation was detected. The electrical system was also in proper order. The witnesses cannot say for sure if the motor stopped running at the moment of the incident, although Acevedo thinks that, after stopping on the embankment, he had to re-start the engine.
Roncoroni said that inspector Daniel Osimi told him the witnesses, while in the Pedro Luro Police Department, were in complete control of their mental faculties, though they still showed nervousness caused by the incident. Osimi verified the absence of leakage possibility in the reserve gas tank, but the loss of the 40 liters had no explanation.
Corporal J. Garcia also noticed that the witnesses were very nervous. They practically exchanged no words during the trip to Pedro Luro, Bahia Blanca. In one instance Acevedo was visibly startled when a car, traveling behind them, turned on its high beams.
Hector Forchesatto, service station attendant, was the first to have contact with the witnesses right after the incident. He also noticed how nervous they were, especially Moya. He remembered having heard them discuss the problem about the mileage and the disappearance of gasoline. In his opinion, the witnesses seemed sincerely concerned and their state of restlessness and confoundment was impossible to fake. Besides, Forchesatto assured the investigating ufologists that between 04:30 a.m. and 04:45 a.m., neighbors in the city of Ascasubi observed the fast displacement of a powerful yellowish light heading west - unfortunately the ufologists could not confirm this statement.
The investigators noted no physical traces or other evidence corroborated the report, but that in the opinion of all those who interviewed Acevedo and Moya, the reporters, police, ufologists, the witnesses deserved to be trusted.
Roncoroni offered a map, thought about the loss of time factor, and proposed:
"Those who had investigated the incident up to now had overlooked an element that, in my opinion, requires closer attention: the time factor. Acevedo and Moya leave behind Carmen de Patagones at approximately 2:50 a.m. Minutes later, after covering the 25 to 30 km, they see the yellowish for the first time. Thus, between 3:00 a.m. and 3:05 a.m., the mentioned events take place. Afterwards, they find themselves on the embankment on the opposite side of the road, on Route 3 and after a couple of minutes they continue the trip to Bahia Blanca."
"At 5:10 they arrive at Pedro Luro (this fact corroborated by the service station attendant, Mr. Forchesatto) which means that they covered the distance between Carmen de Patagones / Pedro Luro in approximately 2:20 hours. Supposing they had covered that distance without inconvenience, and traveling at an average speed of 100 kmh., it would have taken 75 to 80 minutes at most, leaving approximately 60 minutes unaccounted for. But let's review the witnesses' account once again. From Carmen de Patagones until the moment the light appears, 15 minutes go by. From the moment that the car descends the embankment and they take Route 3 once again, until their arrival at Pedro Luro, they consume another 15 minutes. Altogether it amounts to 30 minutes approximately, leaving a total of 110 minutes unaccounted for, a little less than two hours!"
"In the witnesses' opinion, the manifestation of the phenomenon had only taken one or two minutes, although they also mentioned that when the yellowish light engulfed their car they lost all notion of time and place; they are not even sure that they could categorically ascertain that they were inside the car. The yellowish/violet light was the only visible thing to the witnesses, they couldn't even see each other."
"It should be mentioned that none of the other contestants in the rally saw car #102 stopped along the route (which would be difficult not to see especially when considering the spirit of collaboration that exists among the participants of the race, and nobody passed them between the cities of Carmen de Patagones and Pedro Luro, for which we could discard that those 110 minutes unaccounted for could have been caused by abnormal problem or at least an identifiable one. Thus, it seems, the time factor had arisen from the incident caused by the phenomenon."
"Seventy kilometers lost: Together with the loss of time, the Acevedo/Moya incident reveals another interesting fact: the car's odometer registered 71 km less than the distance between the two cities. The witnesses discovered this fact when checking the odometer at their arrival at Pedro Luro (corroborated by Mr. Forchesatto). It is also worth mentioning that this lack of registering was not caused by a malfunction of the car's instruments, since the same distance was measured by additional precision instruments carried by the crews participating in this type of competition."
"Therefore, we can only assume that Acevedo and Moya did not travel that distance by normal means. Together with the loss of time, the loss of 71 km is a disquieting fact and is unexplained."
Roncoroni ended his report suggesting further research. As was usual in this time, he believed it would be fruitful to interrogate the witnesses under hypnosis, saying that "whoever tries application of hypnotic regression on Moya and Acevedo would not be disappointed."
Obviously nothing of that was published, but it is probably this comment which led others to follow the wishful thinking, to imagine that this was virtually an "abduction case", and led others to classify the case as a "close encounter of the third kind"; which it is strictly not.
In 1999, the "Ovni" ("Ufo") show on Chilean national TV featured the experience. The show is in Spanish, unfortunately I cannot understand it with any certainty. It does look like the TV reporter managed to track down Moya and secondary witnesses and the story seems to be essentially the same. However, a Spanish speaking website indicates some more stuff: Moya had later experienced what looks like some sort of hypnagogic hallucination in his bed, though Acevedo saw him half levitating that night and thus, if this was true, it could not have been an hallucination. There is also a mention of NASA-looking people who allegedly examined the car and the witnesses clothes and urged the latter to shut up about the incident. There is even talk of Moya having been not just lifted with the car but been moved in some corridor, in the presence of little aliens. This all is perhaps the result of some hypnotic regression session after all, or entirely caused by the confusion with another mildly similar case in Mendoza that year.
In 2010, the website of an Ecuadorian newspaper tells about the sighting. They reported that former Ecuadorian motorist Edmundo Carvajal had formed with the German Lothar Ranft the only Ecuadorian team which took part in the South American Rally in September 1978, and they reported an anecdote about the alleged UFO sighting by a duet of Chilean pilots.
Carvajal told that in the penultimate leg of the rally, "We were in the leg from Comodoro Rivadavia to Bahia Blanca."
"The Citroen vehicle of a Chilean businessman named Acevedo surprised us before a turn, then came a very long straight line, typical of the Pampa, 80 km to 100 km long. After the turn, I saw it no more. This caught our attention much, because the vehicle was not a such as fast speed, so that we should have seen its lights."
In the morning, Ranft and Carvajal arrived at a gas station, where Carlos Acevedo was outside of the car, while copilot Miguel Angel Moya sat in the car, and there were many people around.
"When we arrived, we asked them what had occurred, because we saw them extremely nervous, and he told us that, after the long straight line at some time, they saw approaching from behind a very light sharp, and they thought that it was one of Mercedes Benz which took part in the rally. They went to the side to let it pass, but the light became more intense and did not exceed them, it absorbed them."
Acevedo told Carvajal "The light lifted our car." "I flew through the air during a few seconds, and finally we found ourselves without fuel close to a gas station."
Carvajal told Acevedo had recovered from the shock, but Moya was "pale and in a state of shock."
Skeptical, Carvajal commented that it "could be a well made-up story," but there were three things which impressed him:
"They arrived close to 1h15m before us at the station, which means an average speed of 4000 km per hour. This was checked, for the hour of the end of the affair was given by the local police force, the score was 70 km less than our odometer, and there was the shock of the copilot. One can invent something, but one needs much care to get into this state."
Back in Buenos Aires, the pilots of the South American rally were rewarded by the famous Juan Manuel Fangio, and there was a party in the evening.
Carvajal told: "We were in a group of friends talking with Acevedo. A lady approached and, hesitantly, asked him why he had invented this UFO story. They argued with this person and finally left the party saying that he was a serious business man in his country and that what he had told had harmed him but that what they had lived was the truth."
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[Ref. jt1:] JANE THOMAS:
CAR LEVITATION AND E-M CASE(The following story appeared in the Buenos Aires, Argentina Herald, September 24, 1978. Submitted by Jane Thomas.) UFO "Gives Rally Car a Lift." Bahia Blanca. -- Two Chilean stragglers in the international "Round South America" motor rally claim they had an encounter with an unidentified flying object (UFO) on their way here. Carlos Acevedo, who was accompanied by Angel Moya, said that some 30 kilometers from Viedma he saw in his rear mirror a bright light he at first thought was from a lorry, but he judged it was travelling at about 300 kilometers an hour. The light completely enveloped his car, whose lights went out and motor stopped. Acevedo said the vehicle was then lifted off the ground. Both he and his companion were unable to make any movements while in this bubble of light. The car went through the air for about 15 kilometers after which it was deposited gently by the side of the road. On examining the tank of their car, Acevedo found it almost empty although it had nearly 400 liters of petrol when it met the UFO. The two drivers insisted on having a policeman as passenger the rest of the way to Bahia Blanca (NA). |
[Ref. gr1:] GUILLERMO C. RONCORONI:
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THE RALLY INCIDENT:
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sticky," he recalled. In the meantime, Miguel Angel Moya felt paralyzed because of the light, and he told us: "My first thought was also that we had hit something and I was scared of the possibility of turning over. But when I noticed that the car seemed to float in the air and didn't come down I was more scared then. It was truly a situation which I couldn't comprehend. I looked at Carlos - and I saw him rigid, his arms extended grasping the steering wheel, and his eye fixed straight ahead. He seemed to be shouting but I couldn't ear, I was seeing everything as if I were at a distance, somewhere else. I think that my first reaction was to get out of there and I tried to open the door but couldn't - it seemed like glued. I noticed that the temperature started to increase, but maybe it was caused by my being so frightened. Suddenly the light engulfed everything and I couldn't see anything, I think that not even my hands, nothing." The witnesses then lost all conception of time. Then they felt a bump and noticed that the car was once again on the road. "I think that a minute had passed, or two, I don't really know, when I felt a bump, soft, but I immediately had the impression that the car was once again on the road. At that instant the yellow light seemed to lose some of its intensity and I started to be able to see the dashboard and the hood. I looked out of the window and saw that we were on firm ground, on the opposite side of the road, in the embankment. The light left the interior of the car and I observed that to the west something like a cone of yellow light was disappearing, but it didn't end in a point, it was cut off. It was about 4 or 5 meters at the base, and 2 or 3 at the cusp, and 6 meters, maybe 7, in height. The base lighted the surrounding area, although I couldn't tell what it was illuminating, in other words, you couldn't see through it. A few seconds later, the light retracted bottom to top, and the only thing that was left in view was a white / yellowish light, oval in shape, that continued its west heading until it disappeared in the distance," said Acevedo. It took a few seconds for Moya to recuperate from the impression produced by the strange situation that he had just lived: "All of a sudden everything was over, and we were back on the road. Carlos and I looked at each other but we couldn't say anything. I was stunned, my hands were shaking, and I felt something pressing against my chest; it was difficult to breathe." Acevedo and Moya remained in silence for a few seconds, without attempting any action. Finally, Acevedo stepped from the car "to see if anything was in its place," he recounted. A minute later he climbed back into the car and continued north on Route 3. Having traveled for 15 minutes, the car arrived at Pedro Luro, in the province of Buenos Aires, about 123 km north of Carmen de Patagones. They stopped at a service station to find out the location of the nearest police department and, while checking the instruments in the car, they discovered two things: The odometer indicated that from Viedma to Pedro Luro, they had covered 52 km; besides, they had arrived at Pedro Luro at 5:10 a.m., having passed through Carmen de Patagones at 2:05 a.m., approximately. Having covered the distance at an average of 100 km.p.h. it should not have taken them more than 75 minutes to cover the distance between the two points; instead, they had consumed 2 hours and 20 minutes. The witnesses would discover a third unexplainable fact: when they decided to fill up the main gas tank again, they observed that the reserve tank was completely empty, in spite of having been filled with 40 liters of gas in (continued on next page) |
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(Rally, Continued) the city of Viedma. All these facts contributed even more to the witnesses' confusion who, seized by increasing apprehension, decided to inform the Pedro Luro Police Department. There they met inspector Daniel Osimi, who was informed in detail of all the events, and was asked by the witnesses to provide them with an escort to the city of Bahia Blanca. Inspector Osimi, realizing the desperation of the two men, commissioned Corporal J. Garcia to accompany the witnesses to Bahia Blanca, departing a few minutes later, and arriving at the destination around 8:30 a.m. The Witnesses Carlos Acevedo is 38 years old. His parents are from Chile, but he was born in Argentina. He has been living in Chile since 1960. In the capital, Santiago, he has two elegant shoe stores located in the most sophisticated part of town. He has two children from a previous marriage, and a 5-year-old child with his present wife Cecilia. Acevedo is in a very good financial situation (as evidenced by his participation in the rally for which he had to spend more than $20,000). He is an extrovert and easy to get along with. Miguel Angel Moya is 28 years old. He was born and raised in Santiago, Chile. He is a mechanic (one of the best, according to Acevedo). He is kind of shy and quiet. He seems to have been affected by the incident in which he participated. Both witnesses give a very good impression. Their respective accounts of the incident are very coherent. They did not contradict each other, and responded to all questions without hesitation. There are no reasons to doubt their testimony. Other Testimony Inspector Daniel Osimi: He stated that the witnesses, while in the Pedro Luro Police Dept., were in complete control of their mental faculties, although they still showed signs of nervousness caused by the incident. Osimi verified the absence of any breakage or leaks in the reserve gas tank; the disappearance of 40 liters of fuel has no explanation. Corporal J. Garcia: He noticed that the witnesses were very nervous. They practically exchanged no words during the trip to Pedro Luro, Bahia Blanca. In one instance, Acevedo was visibly startled when a car, traveling behind them, turned on his high beams. Hector Forchesatto (service station attendant): He was the first one to have any contact with the witnesses right after the incident. He also noticed how nervous they were, especially Moya. He remembered having heard them discuss the problem about the mileage and the disappearance of gasoline. In his opinion, the witnesses seemed sincerely concerned and their state of restlessness and confoundment was impossible to fake. Besides, Forchesatto assured us that, between 4:30 a.m. and 4:45 a.m., neighbors in the city of Ascasubi observed the fast displacement of a powerful yellowish light heading west (we haven't been able to confirm this statement). Comments As in many other UFO cases, we must base our investigation on the witnesses' report. There are no physical traces or other evidence that could corroborate our conclusions, therefore, the general reliability of the incident will depend, exclusively, in the trust that the witnesses deserve. In the opinion of all those who interviewed Acevedo and Moya (reporters, police, and myself), the witnesses deserve that trust. They have been willing to subject themselves to an open and unconditional interrogatory without objections. Their statements have been coherent, ordinate, without contradictions, and I consider that the element of trust be placed at a high level. The characteristics of the incident itself, its notorious oddity, deserve a detailed analysis. The loss of time factor: Those who had investigated the incident up to now had overlooked an element that, in my opinion, requires closer attention: the time factor. Acevedo and Moya leave behind Carmen de Patagones at approximately 2:50 a.m. Minutes later, after covering the 25 to 30 km, they see the yellowish for the first time. Thus, between 3:00 a.m. and 3:05 a.m., the mentioned events take place. Afterwards, they find themselves on the embankment on the opposite side of the road, on Route 3 and after a couple of minutes they continue the trip to Bahia Blanca. At 5:10 they arrive at Pedro Luro (this fact corroborated by the service station attendant, Mr. Forchesatto) which means that they covered the distance between Carmen de Patagones / Pedro Luro in approximately 2:20 hours. Supposing they had covered that distance without inconvenience, and traveling at an average speed of 100 kmh., it would have taken 75 to 80 minutes at most, leaving approximately 60 minutes unaccounted for. But let's review the witnesses' account once again. From Carmen de Patagones until the moment the light appears, 15 minutes go by. From the moment that the car descends the embankment and they take Route 3 once again, until their arrival at Pedro Luro, they consume another 15 minutes. Altogether it amounts to 30 minutes approximately, leaving a total of 110 minutes unaccounted for, a little less than two hours! In the witnesses' opinion, the manifestation of the phenomenon had only taken one or two minutes, although they also mentioned that when the yellowish light engulfed their car they lost all notion of time and place; they are not even sure that they could categorically ascertain that they were inside the car. The yellowish/violet light was the only visible thing to the witnesses, they couldn't even see each other. It should be mentioned that none of the other contestants in the rally saw car #102 stopped along the route (which would be difficult not to see especially when considering the spirit of collaboration that exists ~ among the participants of the race, and nobody passed them between the cities of Carmen de Patagones and Pedro Luro, for which we could discard that those 110 minutes unaccounted for could have been caused by abnormal problem or at least an identifiable one. Thus, it seems, the time factor had arisen from the incident caused by the phenomenon. It is worth mentioning the similarity of this incident to the one of July 16, 1972, in which Mssrs. Brunelli and |
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(Rally, Continued) Prochietto were participant on their way to the city of Cordoba from Arroyito. According to these witnesses, at a certain moment of the trip the car they were driving seemed to float in the air. Curiously, they couldn't remember having traveled a section of 80 km, and the trip was reduced by almost 40 minutes. The witness also observed an odd lighted phenomenon at about 50 meters from the route (S.I.U. - U.F.O. Press #8). Seventy kilometers lost: Together with the loss of time, the Acevedo/Moya incident reveals another interesting fact: the car's odometer registered 71 km less than the distance between the two cities. The witnesses discovered this fact when checking the odometer at their arrival at Pedro Luro (corroborated by Mr. Forchesatto). It is also worth mentioning that this lack of registering was not caused by a malfunction of the car's instruments, since the same distance was measured by additional precision instruments carried by the crews participating in this type of competition. Therefore, we can only assume that Acevedo and Moya did not travel that distance by normal means. Together with the loss of time, the loss of 71 km is a disquieting fact and is unexplained. Effects on the Vehicle and witnesses: It appears that the vehicle did not suffer any effects due to this event. The paint was intact and the body and chassis does not seem to have been subjected to any electro-magnetism (compass deviation was insignificant), and no radiation was detected. The electrical system was also in proper order. The witnesses cannot say for sure if the motor stopped running at the moment of the incident, although Acevedo thinks that, after stopping on the embankment, he had to re-start the engine. They also experienced fright and disorientation during the sighting. Moya remembers having felt "a suffocating heat" when the light engulfed the interior of the car, a strong oppression on his thorax (he could hardly breathe), and an uncontrollable shaking of his hands (the oppression on his thorax and the shaking continued for more than 24 hours). Acevedo stated that, after the incident, his legs felt like asleep, and a tingling effect in the dorsal region. Both witnesses related that, during the following nights, it was very difficult to fall asleep and that on several occasions they woke up frightened. Conclusions: As mentioned previously, the conclusions of this investigation and its analysis must be based, undoubtedly, in the trust that the witnesses deserve, because of the lack of all material evidence. The witnesses deserve our trust since there are other testimonies that corroborate and support Acevedo's and Moya's' reports. Therefore, in this sense, I consider that the analyzed case should also deserve a high rate of credibility. Nevertheless, it is my opinion, that the investigation of this case is not closed yet. I believe that it would be extremely important to interrogate the witnesses under hypnotic trance. The results in utilizing this technique in other cases which presented a problem regarding loss of time or unconsciousness have been surprising and I consider that, in this particular instance, whoever tries application of hypnotic regression on Moya and Acevedo would not be disappointed. |
[Note: the document above is the version in the MUFON Journal. The initial version in UFO Press is strictly identical, but in Spanish language obviously, and offering the photograph of the witnesses, below.]
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[Note: to avoid some doubts, below is the original Spanish version published in UFO Press in October 1978.]
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Los meses de agosto, septiembre y octubre de 1978, se han caracterizado por un inusitado recrudecimiento de la actividad OVNI en todo el territorio argentino. Durante el mes de agosto, la actividad No Identificada se desarrolló preferentemente en la zona occidental (precordillera), en las provincias de San Juan, Mendoza y Neuquén, con manifestaciones aisladas en Chile, en la misma latitud geográfica. Posteriormente, en la última semana de agosto y primera quincena de septiembre, el epicentro de las manifestaciones de OVNI se trasladó al sur de la provincia de Buenos Aires (zona de Pedro Luro, Médanos, Bahía Blanca, Coronel Dorrego y Necochea), produciéndose los primeros casos del Tipo 1 de este nuevo período (La Dulce, Bs.As.). Finalmente, a partir del 20 de septiembre, se produce una importante serie de avistajes en la provincia de Tucumán y en la zona de Rosario, Melincué y Casilda, en la provincia de Santa Fe. El período agosto/octubre de 1978 ha registrado más de un centenar de denuncias de OVNI, muchas de las cuales, luego de su análisis, podrán ser asimiladas a fenómenos naturales o errores de identificación. Sin embargo existe, a priori, un relevante núcleo de observaciones de elevado índice de extrañeza y que, por lo tanto, merecen un tratamiento especial. De todos las observaciones de OVNI del período agosto/ octubre, el incidente de Acevedo-Moya es, sin duda, el de mayor importancia, no sólo por la difusión periodística de que fue objeto sino, y fundamentalmente, por sus poco comunes características. RELATO DEL INCIDENTE.El 17 de agosto de 1978, Carlos Acevedo y Hugo Prambs, partieron de la ciudad de Buenos Aires a bordo de un Citroen GS 1220, en cumplimiento de la primera etapa del Rally de América del Sur, organizado por el Automóvil Club Argentino y el Banco de Intercambio Regional. La competencia de la que participarían era en verdad extenuante para hombres y máquinas: una verdadera maratón de poco más de un mes de duración en el transcurso de la cual deberían unir Buenos Aires con Caracas (Venezuela) para regresar por la costa sudamericana del Pacífico. La tripulación del Citroen número 102 debió enfrentar innumerables problemas, en especial en los últimos tramos del Rally, los que determinaron que debieran renunciar a continuar participando de la competencia. Sin embargo, fruto de la determinación de Acevedo y la ayuda de otros competidores, pudieron "reengancharse", luego de haber efectivizado su abandono, con el objeto de completar el recorrido. El 16 de septiembre, en la ciudad de Bariloche, se produjo la deserción de Hugo Prambs por problemas personales, siendo reemplazado por Miguel Angel Moya. En la madrugada del 23 de septiembre, Acevedo y Moya recorrían los últimos 1000 kilómetros del Rally. Aproximadamente a las 02:00 hs., se detuvieron en la estación ACA de Viedma (provincia de Río Negro) donde repostaron combustible (llenaron el tanque standard de 50 litros y un depósito suplementario de 40 litros), tomaron café y conversaron algunos minutos con otros competidores. A las 02:30 hs. el Citroen número 102 estaba nuevamente en lo ruta con rumbo a Bahía Blanca, luego de cruzar el Río Negro y atravesar la ciudad de Carmen de Patagones. Aproximadamente a las 03:00 hs. habían dejado atrás el cruce de la Ruta 3 con el camino vecinal que conduce al pueblo de Cardenal Cagliero y se encontraban a la altura del Salitral del Algarrobo y la Salina de Pedro, a unos 30 kilómetros al norte de la ciudad de Carmen de Patagones (coordenadas aproximadas de la localización de los testigos: 40* 29' Latitud Sur, 62* 49' Longitud Oeste). Carlos Acevedo se encontraba al volante del Citroen. De pronto observó una potentísima luminosidad que se reflejaba en el espejo retrovisor de su automóvil. Era una luz densa, de una coloración amarillenta. Al principio se distinguía sólo como un punto en el espejo, sin embargo su tamaño aumentaba a ojos vista. Acevedo y Moya viajaban en aquellos momentos a casi 100 kilómetros por hora. Pese a ello la luz parecía acercarse rápidamen te, por lo que Acevedo supuso que se trataba de las luces frontales de alguno de los automóviles de la clase de mayor cilindrada ( Citroén 2400 o alguno de los Mercedes Benz ), por lo que decidió disminuir sensiblemente la velocidad de su automóvil y pegarse al borde derecho de la cinta asfáltica a fin de facilitar el paso de lo que suponía era otro competidor del Rally. La luz ya llenaba el espejo retrovisor y continuaba acercándose a gran velocidad. De pronto el habitáculo del Citroén de Acevedo y Moya se ''llenó'' de luz. "La luz inundó todo el habitáculo y no podía ver más allá del capot del auto. Era una luz densa, muy brillante, de color amarillo con algunos tintes violáceos. En ese momento el auto me pareció fuera de control. Miré por la ventanilla y ví que estábamos a casi dos metros del asfalto. De inmediato pensé que habíamos saltado un 'lomo de burro' y comencé a volantear, preparándome para el momento en que tomáramos nuevamente contacto con el asfalto", relató Acevedo. Sin embargo, el automóvil lejos de descender, parecía continuar elevándose incontroladamente. "Tras algunos segundos, no se, quizá 5 ó10. Reaccioné, me di cuenta que aquello era algo completamente anormal. Quise mirar nuevamente por la ventanilla pero lo único que se veía era esa luz densa. Recuerdo que comencé a gritar ¿Qué pasa?, pero Moya no me contestaba. Cuando miré hacia mi derecha mi compañero no estaba allí, o al menos yo no lo podía ver. En realidad ni siquiera podía ver el tablero de instrumentos. Sólo veía esa luz, densa, que parecía como un líquido, no sé, algo así como pegajosa", recordó Acevedo. Por su parte, Miguel Angel Moya permanecía como paralizado por el temor, y nos explicó: "En un primer momento yo también pensé un 'lomo de burro' y me asustó algo la posibilidad de un vuelco, pero cuando noté que el auto parecía flotar en el aire y no descendía me atemoricé aún mas. Realmente era una situación que no podía comprender. Lo miré a Carlos y lo vi' rígido, con los brazos extendidos aferrando el volante y la vista clavada frente. Parecía que estaba gritando pero yo no oía nada. Lo veía todo como a través de una niebla amarilla, como si yo estuviera distante, en otro lado. Creo que mi primer reacción fue escapar de allí, y quise abrir la puerta pero no pude, parecía como soldada. Noté que la temperatura se elevaba aunque a lo mejor era producto de mi estado de temor. De pronto la luz lo envolvió todo y yo ya no veía nada, creo que ni siquiera veía mis manos, ni nada". Los testigos perdieron entonces la noción del tiempo. De pronto sintieron una sacudida y notaron que el automóvil estaba nuevamente en tierra. "Creo que había pasado un minuto, o dos, no se realmente, cuando sentí una sacudida leve, pero de inmediato tuve la impresión de que el auto estaba otra vez sobre la ruta. En ese mismo momento la luz amarilla pereció que se hacia menos intensa y de a poco pude ver a mi alrededor, vi el tablero, el capot del auto. Miré por la ventanilla y vi la tierra, estábamos en la banquina de la contramano, sobre la izquierda de la ruta, totalmente detenidos. De pronto la luz dejó el habitáculo y observé que hacia el oeste se alejaba. algo así como un cono de luz amarilla, pero que no terminaba en punta sino que estaba como truncado. No se, seria como de cuatro o cinco metros en la base y dos o tres en la cúspide, y de unos seis metros, quizá siete, de altura. La base iluminaba el terreno, aunque en realidad no se veía que era lo que iluminaba, o sea no se veía a través de la luz. Unos segundos después la luz se, ¿como podría decirlo?, se retrajo ...o se levantó como una cortina, de abajo hacia arriba, y lo único que quedó a la vista fue una luz blanco-amarillenta, ovalada, que siguió rumbo al oeste hasta desaparecer en la distancia", relató Acevedo. Por su parte, Moya tardó algunos segundos en recuperarse de la impresión producida por la anormal situación vivida: "De pronto todo pasó, y estábamos solos en la ruta, nos miramos con Carlos pero no podíamos decirnos nada. Yo estaba como entumecido, me temblaban las manos y sentía una opresión en el pecho, me costaba respirar". Acevedo y Moya permanecieron en silencio por algunos segundos, sin atinar a realizar ninguna acción o actividad. Por fin, Acevedo descendió del vehículo para, según nos expresó, "ver si todo estaba en su lugar". Apenas un minuto después ascendió nuevamente al Citroén y, a toda marcha, continuaron por la Ruta 3 rumbo al norte. Tras 15 minutos de marcha, poco más o menos la tripulación chilena del Citroen número 102 arribó a Pedro Luro, localidad situada en la provincia de Buenos Aires a 123 kilómetros al norte de Carmen de Patagones. Se detuvieron en una gasolinera, a fin de averiguar la ubicación de un destacamento de policía, y al decidir controlar el instrumental del automóvil, constataron dos hechos anómalos: el odómetro atestiguaba que, desde la ciudad de Viedma a Pedro Luro, habían recorrido 52 kilómetros, cuando la distancia real entre las dos localidades es de 127 kilómetros; por otra parte, habían arribado a Pedro Luro a las 05:10 horas, habiendo salido de la zona urbanizada de Carmen de Patagones a las 02:50 horas, aproximadamente. Habiendo realizado el trayecto a una velocidad media de 100 kilómetros por hora no deberían haber insumido más de 75 minutos para cubrir la distancia existente entre ambos puntos, pero en realidad habían insumido 2 horas 20 minutos. Los testigos constatarían un tercer hecho inexplicable: al decidir llenar el tanque principal de gasolina observaron que el depósito secundario estaba absolutamente vacío, pese a que había sido llenado con 40 litros en la ciudad de Viedma. Los hechos explicitados confundieron aún más a los testigos, quienes, presa de un creciente temor, decidieron dar cuenta de los hechos a la policía de Pedro Luro, para lo cual se dirigieron al destacamento respectivo. Allí fueron solícitamente atendidos por el oficial inspector Daniel Osimi, a quien relataron los pormenores del incidente protagonizado y solicitaron se les facilitara custodia hasta la ciudad de Bahía Blanca. El oficial Osimi, al constatar la desesperación que trasuntaba el relato de Acevedo y Moya, comisionó al cabo Jesús García para que acompañara a los testigos hasta la ciudad de Bahía Blanca, rumbo hacia la cual partieron minutos después, arribando sin novedad a las 08:30 horas, aproximadamente. LOS TESTIGOS.Carlos Acevedo tiene 38 críos. Es hijo de padres chilenos pero nació en la Argentina. Está radicado en Chile desde 1960. En la ciudad capital, Santiago, posee dos elegantes zapaterías en uno de los barrios más sofisticados. Tiene dos hijos de su anterior matrimonio y un pequeño de 5 años con su actual mujer, Cecilia Santelices. Acevedo detenta una holgada posición económica (claramente evidenciada por su participación en el Rally, para lo cual debió desembolsar mas de 20 mil dólares). Es de personalidad extrovertida y muy accesible. Miguel Angel Moya tiene 20 años. Es chileno, nacido en la ciudad de Santiago. De profesión mecánico (Uno de los mejores, según Acevedo). Impresiona por su carácter tímido, apocado. Evidencia hallarse muy afectado por el incidente que lo tuvo por protagonista. Ambos testigos me impresionaron muy favorablemente. Sus respectivos relatos son sumamente coherentes. No incurrieron en contradicciones y respondieron a todas mis preguntas sin vacilaciones. No existen, a priori, razones para dudar de su testimonio. OTROS TESTIMONIOS.Oficial inspector Jorge Osimi: Declaró que los testigos, al prestar declaración en la comisaría de Pedro Luro, estaban en pleno uso de sus facultades mentales, aunque evidenciaban estar muy nerviosos a resultas de los hechos protagonizados. Osimi constató la ausencia de roturas o filtraciones en el depósito auxiliar de gasolina, por lo que la desaparición de los 40 litros de combustible no tiene explicación. Cabo de policía Jesús García: Declaró que notó a los testigos muy nerviosos. Prácticamente no intercambiaron palabras en el trayecto Pedro Luro - Bahía Blanca. En una oportunidad Acevedo se sobresaltó visiblemente cuando un automóvil que marchaba tras el Citroen hizo señas con sus luces altas. Héctor Forchesatto: (sereno de la gasolinera) Fue quien primero tomó contacto con los testigos con posterioridad al incidente. Los notó muy nerviosos, en especial a Moya. Recuerda haberlos oído discutir acerca del problema del kilometraje recorrido y del faltante de nafta. En opinión de Forchesatto los testigos eran sinceros y el estado de intranquilidad y desconcierto que evidenciaban era imposible de fingir. Por otra porte, Forchesatto aseguró que, entre las 04:30 y las 04:45 horas, vecinos de la localidad de Ascasubi observaron el rápido desplazamiento de una extraña y potente luz amarillenta en dirección al oeste (no ha podido confirmarse esta afirmación). COMENTARIOS.En este, como en tantos otros casos de avistajes de OVNI, debemos basar todo nuestro accionar en el relato de los testigos. No existen elementos físicos u otras evidencias que apoyen nuestras conclusiones por lo que la confiabilidad general del incidente dependerá, pura y exclusivamente, de la confianza que nos merezcan los testigos. En opinión de todos los que han entrevistado a Moya y Acevedo, (periodistas, personal policíaco y en el mio propio) los testigos merecen absoluta confianza. Se han prestado al diálogo franco sin objeciones e incondicionalmente. Sus declaraciones han sido coherentes, ordenadas y no han incurrido en contradicciones, por lo que considero que el elemento confiabilidad detenta un elevado nivel. En lo que hace a las características del incidente en sí, su extrañeza es notoria y merece un análisis pormenorizado. - El problema de la reducción temporal: Quienes hasta ahora habían tomado cartas en la investigación del incidente Acevedo-Moya, extrañamente han pasado por alto un elemento que, a mi juicio, detenta el mayor nivel de extrañeza:el problema temporal, que se resume en lo siguiente: Acevedo y Moya dejan atrás la zona urbanizada de Carmen de Patagones aproximadamente a las 02:50 horas. Un cuarto de hora después, y cuando ya habían recorrido entre 25 y 30 kilómetros, visualizan la luz amarillenta por primera vez. Así`, entre las 03:00 y las 03.95 horas, se desarrollan los hechos ya relatados. Posteriormente quedan detenidos en la banquina, junto a la Ruta 3 para, luego de uno o dos minutos, proseguir su marcha hacia Bahía Blanca. A las 05:10 horas arriban a Pedro Luro (corroborado por el sereno de la estación de servicio, Sr. Forchesatto), por lo que cubrieron el trayecto Carmen de Patagones-Pedro Luro en aproximadamente 2 horas 20 minutos. En el supuesto caso de haber realizado el trayecto sin que hubieran surgido inconvenientes, y a una velocidad promedio de 100 km/h, deberían haber insumido, a lo máximo 75 a 80 minutos por lo que existirían aproximadamente unos 60 minutos en blanco. Pero repasemos nuevamente el relato de los testigos. Desde Carmen de Patagones hasta, el momento en que se manifiesta el fenómeno luminoso transcurren unos 15 minutos. Desde el momento que quedan detenidos en la banquina y retoman la ruta, hasta el arribo a Pedro Luro los testigos insumen otros 15 minutos, En total media hora aproximadamente, por lo que el lapso de tiempo en blanco sería de 110 minutos, o sea poco menos de dos horas. En opinión de los testigos, la manifestación del fenómeno se habría extendido por uno o dos minutos, sin embargo también declararon que al quedar envueltos en el haz de luz amarillento perdieron toda noción de tiempo y de lugar, ni siquiera están en condiciones de afirmar categóricamente que se encontraban en el habitáculo del Citroen. La luz amarilla-violácea era lo único visible para los testigos, que ni siquiera podían observarse uno a otro. Cabe destacar que ninguno de los restantes competidores del Rally observó al Citroén número 102 detenido en la ruta, (hecho que muy difícilmente habría pasado desapercibido por el natural espíritu de colaboración que existe entre los participantes de esta clase de competencias) y que ningún automóvil sobrepasó la línea de marcha del vehículo de los testigos entre las localidades de Carmen de Patagones y Pedro Luro, por lo que debería descartarse que esos 110 minutos en blanco pudieran deberse a un problema normal o al menos identificable. Así, aparentemente, el problema temporal, se habría originado a resultas del incidente ocasionado por el fenómeno luminoso. Restaría intentar explicar el porqué de ese lapso de tiempo perdido y que ocurrió con los testigos y el automóvil en el transcurso del mismo, pero ello nos obligaría a recorrer un camino de supuestos e hipótesis propias, en cierto modo, de la literatura de ciencia-ficción, lo cual no es nuestro objeto. Vale la pena destacar la similitud del incidente aquí reservado con el que, el 16 de julio de 1972, tuvo por protagonistas a los Sres. Brunelli y Prochietto cuando se dirigían en un automóvil hacia la ciudad de Córdoba procedentes de Arroyito. Según los testigos en cierto momento del viaje el vehículo que los conducía pereció flotar en el aire. Asombrosamente no pudieron recordar haber atravesado un tramo de más de 80 kilómetros y el viaje se redujo en casi 40 minutos. Los testigos también observaron un extraño fenómeno luminoso a unos 50 metros de la ruta. (Ver "OVNIS - Un Desafío a la Ciencia ", número 8) - Setenta kilómetros faltantes: Paralelamente con la reducción temporal el incidente Acevedo-Moya registra otro hecho singular: el acumulador de kilometraje del automóvil de los testigos registró un faltante de 71 kilómetros para el trayecto Carmen de Patagones-Pedro Luro. Los testigos descubrieron este hecho al testear el odómetro parcial a su arribo a Pedro Luro (corroborado por el Sr. Forchesatto. Cabe descartar la posibilidad de que este faltante se haya originado en el mal funcionamiento de los intrumentos del vehículo, ya que el mismo se registró no sólo en el odómetro standard del automóvil sino también en el instrumental adicional de precisión utilizado por las tripulaciones participantes de una competencia de rally. Cabría entonces entender que Acevedo y Moya no recorrieron esa distancia por los medios normales. Al igual que la reducción temporal, el faltante de 71 kilómetros es un hecho por demás inquietante y, por supuesto-, inexplicable. - Efectos en el vehículo y en los testigos: En apariencia, el vehículo de los testigos no sufrió ninguna clase de efectos a consecuencias del incidente. La pintura se presentó intacta, la carrocería no parece haber sido sometida a un campo magnético (desviación de brújula muy poco significativa y no se detectó radiactividad), instalación eléctrica intacta. Los testigos no pueden asegurar si el motor se detuvo al momento del incidente aunque Acevedo cree que, luego de quedar detenido el vehículo en la banquina, debió poner en marcha nuevamente el motor de la unidad. Por su porte, los testigos experimentaron temor y desorientación en el momento del avistaje. Moya recuerda haber sentido un calor sofocante cuando la luz invadió el habitáculo, una fuerte opresión en el tórax (le costaba respirar) y un temblor Incontrolable en las manos. La opresión en el tórax y el temblor en las manos se extendieron por espacio de más de 24 horas. Acevedo, declaró que, luego del incidente, sentía las piernas adormecidas y un cosquilleo en la región dorsal. Ambos testigos aseguraron que, en las noches sucesivas, los costó conciliar el sueño y que en varias oportunidades se despertaron sobresaltados. No recuerdan haber experimentado manifestaciones oníricas desusadas. CONCLUSIONES.Tal como ya fue manifestado a lo largo de la presente nota, las conclusiones de la investigación y análisis del incidente protagonizado por Carlos Acevedo y Miguel Angel Moya deben basarse, imprescindiblemente, en la confianza que merecen los testigos, ante la inexistencia de toda evidencia material. Como fue anticipado, los testigos son merecedores, a priori, de nuestra confianza y, paralelamente, existen otros testimonios que corroboran (y apuntalan) las declaraciones de Moya y Acevedo. Por lo tanto, en ese sentido, considero que el caso analizado detenta un elevado índice de confiabilidad. Sin embargo es mi parecer que la investigación del caso no esta cerrada, ni mucho menos. Estimo que sería en extremo importante interrogar a los testigos bajo trance hipnótico. Los resultados de la utilización de esa técnica en otros casos que presentan un problema de reducción temporal o pérdida de la conciencia han sido francamente sorprendentes y considero que, en este caso en particular, quien intentara la aplicación de la hipnosis en un interrogatorio a Moya y Acevedo no se vería defraudado. |
[Ref. rh1:] RICHARD HALL:
The ufologist says that on September 23, 1978, Chileans Carlos Acevedo, aged 38, and Miguel Moya, aged 28, were finishing out the last 1000 km of a grueling road rally in Argentina sponsored by the Argentine Automobile Club.
Due to problems with their Citroen car they were no longer in competition, but pride urged them on to complete the race.
At about 2:00 a.m. they stopped for gas in "Viedam" [sic], Rio Negro Province, they filled the 50 liter main tank and a reserve 40 liter tank, and left at 2:30 a.m. for Bahia Blanca. Around 3:00 a.m. they were in the vicinity of Salina de Piedra, about 30 km north of the Rio Negro river. Acevedo was driving, when a very bright yellow light appeared in the rear view mirror.
It rapidly increased in size as if approaching at high speed as they were traveling at about 100 km/h. Acevedo thought it was a fast car gaining on them, he slowed and pulled to the right to let it pass.
The light quickly filled the rear view mirror, and the interior of the car was suddenly flooded with light and heat. Acevedo reported: "I couldn't see any farther than the hood of the car. Its color was yellowish with a violet tint. At that moment the car seemed to go out of control. I looked through the window and saw that we were about two meters off the ground. I immediately thought that we had hit something, flying into the air, and started getting ready for the moment when the car would hit the road again."
Instead of crashing back to earth the car continued its ascent, totally out of Acevedo's control. Out the window he could see nothing but the brilliant light. He could not even see Moya seated beside him or the dashboard of the car.
Moya, meanwhile, felt paralyzed by the light. He reported: "My first thought was also that we had hit something and I was frightened by the possibility of turning over, but when I noticed that the car seemed to float in the air and didn't come down, I was even more scared. It was truly a situation which I couldn't comprehend... I was seeing everything as if through a yellow fog, as if I were at a distance, someplace else."
At this point the two lost all conception of time, until they felt a bump and saw that the car was on the road again. It seemed as if about a minute had passed, but they couldn't really tell.
Then the light intensity diminished and they could see again. To the west they saw something like a yellow cone of light receding, its glow illuminating the surrounding area. The light sort of rolled up like a curtain, from bottom to top, leaving an oval shape that continued west and disappeared in the distance.
Moya said: "I was stunned. My hands were shaking, and I felt something pressing against my chest. It was difficult to breathe."
The car was on the opposite side of the road, on an embankment. Acevedo's legs felt like they were "asleep" and he felt a tingling sensation. He stepped out to check for damage, then climbed back in and resumed driving north on Route 3.
About 15 minutes later, they arrived at Pedro Luro in Buenos Aires Province, about 123 km north of the Rio Negro, and stopped at a service station. There they discovered that something was wrong. The distances didn't add up, the odometer showed only about half the distance they had covered, and the time didn't make sense either. They apparently had lost a little over an hour of time that they couldn't account for.
They were also astonished to discover that their reserve tank, which had not been used at all, was completely empty. Confused and apprehensive about these discoveries, they reported the incident to Inspector Daniel Osimi of the Pedro Luro police department, who assigned Corporal J. Garcia to accompany them to Bahia Blanca. Both police officers told investigators that the men were rational and coherent, but obviously frightened.
The service station attendant, who had witnessed their puzzlement, said that others in a nearby town had seen a bright yellowish light headed west early the same morning. There were no observable aftereffects on the car.
Richard Hall comments that the incident has all the hallmarks of an abduction case as developed by Budd Hopkins in his book Missing Time, and that no follow-up report has been received to indicate whether the men subsequently recalled an encounter with beings.
In another part of his book, the ufologist said that on September 23, 1978, in the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina, there was a case that featured: vehicle encounter, brilliant illumination, impaired vision, levitation, translocation, time loss, loss of vehicle control, missing gasoline.
He says that about 3:00 a.m. during a road rally (endurance race), Carlos Acevedo, 38, businessman, and Miguel Angel Moya, 28, mechanic, were completing the final 1,000 km after withdrawing from formal competition due to mechanical problems. Acevedo was driving at about 100 km per hour.
A bright yellow light approached from the rear at high speed, illuminated the interior of the car and blinded them. He lost control of the car, and then saw that they were about 2 meters above the ground. The car continued to float, and their vision was restricted by the brilliant light. They lost all sense of time.
Finally, they felt a bump and noticed that the car was back on the road, a considerable distance away from the point where the encounter began. They saw a yellowish object retreating in the distance. When they analyzed the circumstances, they found that it had taken 2 hours and 20 minutes to travel a distance that should have taken only 1 hour and 15 minutes. They also discovered that their reserve gas tank, recently filled, was now empty. They stopped at the nearest police department, in Pedro Luro, and reported the incident.
He says the sources are: MUFON UFO Journal No. 140, Oct. 1979; Servicio de Investigaciones Ufologicas UFO Press, v. III, no. 9, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cronica, Buenos Aires, Sept. 24 & 25, 1978.
[Ref. ur1:] "UFO ROUNDUP" - JOSEPH TRAINOR:
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from the UFO Files... 1978: UFO LEVITATES A RACE CAR IN ARGENTINATwenty years ago, on September 25, 1978, Argentinian business man Carlos Acevedo, 38, and his mechanic, Miguel Angel Moya, 28, were completing the final lap of a cross-country endurance race in Buenos Aires province, Argentina. Because of "mechanical problems," their car had to withdraw from formal competition in the 1,000- kilometer (600-mile) road race, and they were on their way back to the city of Buenos Aires. "Acevedo was driving at about 100 km per hour (60 miles per hour). A bright yellow light approached from the rear at high speed, illuminated the interior of the car and blinded them." "He lost control of the car and then saw that they were about two meters (6.6 feet) above the ground. The car continued to float, and their vision was restricted by the brilliant light. They lost all sense of time." "Finally they felt a bump and noticed that their car was back on the road, a considerable distance away from the point where the encounter began. They saw a yellowish object retreating in the distance." "When they analyzed the circumstances, they found that it had taken 2 hours and 20 minutes to travel a distance that should have taken only 1 hour and 15 minutes. They also found that their reserve gas (petrol) tank, recently filled, was now empty. They stopped at the nearest police department, in Pedro Luro, and reported the incident. (See the Argentinian newspaper Cronica for September 24 and 25, 1978. See also MUFON UFO Journal #140 for October 1979 and the book UNINVITED GUESTS by Richard Hall, Aurora Press, Santa Fe, N.M., 1988, pages 297 and 298.) |
[Ref. tv1:] "OVNI" TV SHOW:
[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
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306. Location. Near Salitral del Algarrobo, Rio Negro, Argentina Date: September 23 1978 Time: 0300A On august 17 1978, Carlos Acevedo and Hugo Prambs had left the city of Buenos Aires onboard a Citroen GS 1220 as part of the first leg on the South America Rally Race. On September 16 in Bariloche, Hugo Prambs had to abandon the race due to personal matters and was replaced by Miguel Angel Moya. Midnight on the 23rd they stopped to refuel in Viedma, taking in approximately 50 liters of fuel and then drinking coffee. At around 0300A as they approached the city of Carmen de Patagones Carlos Acevedo was on the driver’s seat, when suddenly he observed a powerful brilliant light which reflected on the rearview mirror. It was a very dense yellowish light. At first it was just a dot on the mirror but it began to grow larger, seemingly approaching. They were both traveling at about 100km an hour at the time, but the light quickly approached them which made the men think that it was one of the newer model vehicles in the race. Acevedo then decided to slow his Citroen and pulled off to the side of the road to let the faster "vehicle" pass. As the light continued its fast approach suddenly the interior of their vehicle was filled with light. It was a brilliant yellowish light with violet tints which made it impossible for the men to see beyond the hood of the car. At that moment Acevedo seemed to loose control of the car, looking out the window he was stunned to see that the vehicle floated at about 2 meters above the asphalt road. He immediately thought they had hit some type of "bump" on the road and the vehicle had gone flying and waited for it to fall back down on the road. But incredibly the vehicle continued "flying" through the air, and apparently ascending at a higher altitude. At this moment Acevedo screamed and looked out the window but he could no longer see anything, everything was surrounded in a brilliant yellow light, indeed he couldn’t even see the control panel and could not see Moya sitting next to him. In the meantime Moya remained sitting in his seat paralyzed with fear unable to speak or move, he felt enveloped in "thick" yellow light which prevented him from even seeing his hands or feet. Both men then lost all notion of time and several moments later felt a bump and they were back on the road again. At the same time the yellow light seemed to their vehicle was now stopped on the side of the road. Suddenly both men saw the yellowish oval-shaped light shoot away towards the west and vanish into the distance. Moya felt numb and a strong pressure on his chest and took him some time to recover, he even had some difficulty in breathing. The men sat quietly for a few moments then finally started the vehicle and continue on to the north on Route 3. The men noticed several inconsistencies with their odometer which indicated a shorter distance of traveling than what really transpired; also the fuel had been totally exhausted. Another race crew, a Chilean team also reported similar phenomena with their vehicle instruments and apparent time and place dislocations. HC addendum Source: Guillermo Roncoroni, UFO Press # 9, October 9 1978 Type: G? Comments: Apparently there has never been any hypnotic regression attempt on the witnesses. |
[Ref. dc1:] DWIGHT CONELLY:
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In the early hours of Sept. 23, 1978, two participants in the South American Rally, Carlos Acevedo and Miguel Angel Moya, suddenly noticed a bright light behind their Citroen GS 1220, just west of Salina de Piedra, Argentina. Thinking it was another car about to overtake them, despite the fact they were traveling 60 mph, Carlos pulled slightly to the right. Suddenly the car was filled with light, and seemed out of control, moving about six feet off the ground and continuing to climb. Moya reports he was "seeing everything like through a yellow fog, as if I were at a distance, someplace else. I couldn't hear anything. I looked at Carlos and I saw him rigid. Suddenly the light engulfed everything and I couldn't see anything, not even my hands." The witnesses then seemed to lose all concept of time, then felt a bump and noticed the car was back on the road. The yellow light lost some of its intensity. Acevedo reported, "The light left the interior of the car, and I observed that to the west something like a cone of yellow light was disappearing, but it didn't end at that point, it was cut off. It was about 4 or 5 meters (12 to 15 feet) at the base, 2 or 3 at the cusp, and 6 meters, maybe 7, in height. The base lighted the surrounding area, although I couldn't tell what it was illuminating; in other words, you couldn't see through it. A few seconds later the light retracted itself; it just went up like a curtain, from bottom to top, and the only thing that was left in view was a white/yellowish light, oval in shape, that continued its west heading until it disappeared in the distance." Acevedo and Moya were stunned, but decided to resume their journey. After traveling for 15 minutes they arrived at Pedro Luro in the province of Buenos Aires, but the trip from Carmen de Patagones to Pedro Luro had taken about an hour longer than it should have. In addition, the car's odometer indicated that the car had traveled 71 km (42 miles) less than the distance between the two cities, indicating teleportation of the vehicle. But in contrast, they discovered that their reserve gasoline tank was completely empty, despite being filled with 40 liters of gas in the city of Viedma. Additional details may be found in an article by Guillermo C. Roncoroni in the October, 1979, issue of the MUFON UFO Journal. |
[Ref. dh1:] "DIARIO HOY":
The South American rally of 1978 was marked by a UFOThe former Ecuadorian pilot Edmundo Carvajal tells an anecdote of his career of September 1978 Former motorist Edmundo Carvajal formed with the German Lothar Ranft the only Ecuadorian team which took part in the South American Rally in September 1978. Carvajal and Ranft finished the competition, which was already an achievement for a team. But, in addition of being experienced competitors, they reported an anecdote about the observation of a UFO supposedly seen by a duet of Chilean pilots. The strange event occurred at the time of the penultimate leg of the rally organized by the Automobile Club of Argentina. "We were in the leg from Comodoro Rivadavia to Bahia Blanca." The former tricolour pilot was in a straight portion at the time of the incident. "The Citroen vehicle of a Chilean businessman named Acevedo surprised us before a turn, then came a very long straight line, typical of the Pampa, 80 km to 100 km long. After the turn, I saw it no more. This caught our attention much, because the vehicle was not a such as fast speed, so that we should have seen its lights." In the morning, Ranft and Carvajal arrived at a gas station, where Carlos Acevedo was outside of the car, the sitted copilot was Miguel Angel Moya and there were many people around. "When we arrived, we asked them what had occurred, because we saw them extremely nervous, and he told us that, after the long straight line at some time, they saw approaching from behind a very light sharp, and they thought that it was one of Mercedes Benz which took part in the rally. They went to the side to let it pass, but the light became more intense and did not exceed them, it absorbed them." "The light lifted our car," said Acevedo to Carvajal. "I flew through the air during a few seconds, and finally we found ourselves without fuel close to a gas station. " He recovered from the shock, but the copilot was pale and in a state of shock", said Carvajal. Being more skeptical, Carvajal declared that it "could be a well made-up story," but there were three things which impressed him: "They arrived close to 1h15m before us at the station, which means an average speed of 4000 km per hour. This was checked, for the hour of the end of the affair was given by the local police force, the score was 70 km less than our odometer, and there was the shock of the copilot. One can invent something, but one needs much care to get into this state." Urban legends in Argentina and Chile Back in Buenos Aires, the pilots of the South American rally were rewarded by Juan Manuel Fangio, five times Formula One world champion later, there was a party in the evening. "We were in a group of friends talking with Acevedo. A lady approached and, hesitantly, asked him why he had invented this UFO story." "They argued with this person and finally left the party saying that he was a serious business man in his country and that what he had told could harm him but that what they had lived was the truth. |
[Ref. sc1:] SCOTT CORRALES:
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News Reports and Articles Ecuador: UFOs at the 1978 Rally? Inexplicata We know that UFOs have shown an interest for all of mankind’s moving vehicles – planes, trains and automobiles among them – but this news item from Ecuador suggests that the intelligence behind the phenomenon has an interest in auto racing. Some details of this story are of particular interest: the mention of the mysterious Comodoro Rivadavia – Bahia Blanca area, and the "hoisting" of the car by an unknown source of light, which also occurred during the 1995 UFO Flap in Galicia, researched by Manuel Carballal. Ecuador: UFOs at the 1978 Rally?Source: Hoy.com Race car drivers Edmundo Carvajal and German-born Lothar Ranft were the only Ecuadoran team to participate in the Rally Sudamericano held in September 1978. Carvajal and Ranft finished the race, which was an accomplishment in itself for an unserviced vehicle. But aside from participating in the race, both shared an experience involving an alleged UFO witnessed by a pair of Chilean drivers. The unusual situation took place in the penultimate lap of the Rally, organized by the Automovil Club de Argentina. "We were leaving the Comodoro Rivadavia to Bahía Blanca leg," explains the former tricolor driver, stating that the incident occurred during a normal stage of the competition. "A Citroen vehicle belonging to a Chilean businessman by the surname of Acevedo passed us before a curve, and this was followed by a very long straight segment, typical of the Pampas, some 80 to 100 kilometers long. I never saw him again after the curve. This drew our attention, because the vehicle wasn’t going that fast, to point that we couldn’t even see its lights." In the early morning hours, Carvajal and Ranft reached a filling station. They found Carlos Acevedo standing outside his car, co-pilot Miguel Angel Moya sitting inside, and many people surrounding them. "When we got there, we asked them what had happened, because we noticed they were extremely nervous. He told us that after the long straight segment, they saw a very bright light come up behind them; they thought it was one of the Mercedes Benz units that were winning the rally. They were about to pull aside to allow them to pass, but the light became more intense and didn’t pass them by – it placed itself above them." "The light lifted our car," Acevedo allegedly told Carvajal. The light carried the car through the air for a few seconds, and at the end, they were deposited without a drop of gasoline in their tank near a filling station. Acevedo recovered from the fright, but his co-pilot was pale and in shock. Skeptically, Carvajal noted that "it could have been a well-contrived ruse" but three things impressed him: "(Acevedo and Moya) arrived at the filling station nearly an hour and fifteen minutes before we did. This means an average speed of 4000 kilometers per hour. This was confirmed, because they took time to report the case to the local police. Their odometer showed that the vehicle had covered less than 70 kilometers. Add to that the co-pilot’s state of shock. One can make up stories, but it must be very hard to get into such a state on purpose." Once they reached Buenos Aires, the drivers of the Rally Sudamericano received their awards from Juan Manuel Fangio, the five-time World Formula One champion. There was a celebration later that evening. "We were in a group of friends talking to Acevedo. A lady approached and jokingly asked why they had made up the story about the UFO. They became annoyed with this person and decided to leave the party. Acevedo said that he was a serious businessman in his country and that discussing his experience could be harmful. But what they had experienced was indeed true." (Translation (c) 2010 S. Corrales IHU – Special thanks to Guillermo Gimenez, Planeta UFO) UFOINFO would like to thank Scott Corrales Inexplicata Blog and UFO UpDates for granting permission to use this article. To keep up to date with follow-up reports and discussions you are advised to subscribe to UFO UpDates. For more information write to Errol Bruce-Knapp at: ufoupdates@virtuallystrange.net or visit http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/. UFOINFO Note: Please visit the Inexplicata Blog for a large selection of articles that are not posted on the UFOINFO site. |
[Ref. op1:] "MISTERIOS, ENIGMAS, OVNIS Y CONSPIRACIONES" WEBSITE:
Case of the Rally in the area of Viedma in Argentine Patagonia.Summary of the case: In the morning of September 23, 1978, two Chilean pilots at the wheel of a Citroen GS 1220, Carlos Acevedo and Miguel Angel Moya, were abducted and transported in a place (a spaceship?). The phenomenon represents a jump of seventy one kilometers on the road and a missing time of almost two hours. A "thick" light submerged them and lifted the vehicle. Suddenly they found themselves moving in a "corridor". All the atmosphere was covered with an intense light, so much so that it was impossible to him to see his own body nor even that of his companion, however they could communicate to each other. During his displacement by the corridor Moya described openings on each side and small beings with large heads who circulated, indifferent, between these doors. A part of their exchange was: - What's going on, dude? asks Acevedo, flabbergasted. - It looks like the Martians captured us... - it is all that it managed to answer to him. They were moved by a kind of corridor to a circular room which "had a strange ceiling, made up of small pyramids" and there was an object similar to a table at the top. Two lights which were in rotation came down to them. After an unspecified time, they perceived a strange sound and found themselves back in their vehicle. Back in Buenos Aires, and as the facts were relayed by the press, it was impossible for them to go unnoticed. The Argentinian police force questioned them and they were asked not to make any more statement so that no panic is caused. The strangest is what occurred then. Three unknown people, that Moya described as from NASA (because of their appearance), had a terrifying conversation with our young pilots already well frightened. Among other things that they told them and which Moya manages to remember: you will not make any comments, because you know nothing about nothing, you do not know who they are, do not interfere with that (as if they were asked to do that!). They took theit vehicle and clothes they wore at the time of the encounter. Two days later, they gave them back the Citroen but not the clothes. They did not give any explanation nor did they pay what they had requisitioned. The young pilots, frightened enough, did not dare to protest nor to ask for payment. Acevedo died a few years later and Moya made homself be forgotten. According to the latest news, he reportedly holds a mechanics workshop in the South of Chile. His last comment: "Now, when I go outside, the first thing I do is to look at the sky, always... always."
(Photo: Miguel Angel Moya at the time of the interview.) Official explanation: Fortunately, there is none. For the great number of testimonys which gave a report on the light in the sky and witnesses who, awaiting for the pilots, just after the event, it was chosen that the facts would be minimized and the affair forgotten. ********** See the documentary at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e0pdP1tO4U&feature=related 1 Thanks to royosobocoto from Youtube to have published the video. Note: This case was brodcast by the TV show "Ovni" ["Ufo"] produced by Televisión Nacional de Chile and animated by the journalist Patricio Bañados. As the producers explained, it took more than one year to locate Miguel Angel Moya and to obtain that he tells his experience. The traumatism was very violent. He told in this documentary that, back in Santiago, they had to sleep over in the town of Mendoza. In the night, and when both sleeping, Acevedo was awaked late by a feeling that something astonishing was going on. Moya was in semi levitation in his bed. Only his heels touched the bed and hiss body was seen in the air at an approximate angle of 45 degrees. Acevedo and a companion had to force the body down so that it recovered the horizontal position. How can this be explained? |
Of course this is in no way a close encounter of the third kind, as absolutely no occupant was reported to their knowledge then.
Wishful thinking by some ufologists nevertheless resulted in the case being published as a CE3 or an "abduction", so I had to document it too.
The affair of the TV show [tv1] obviously complicates the matter, or even maybe makes the whole thing more dubious, and I hope to get some day a translated transcription or at least a reliable summary of its content... I am unable to understand spoken Spanish in a reliable manner.
Source [op1] gives a quite different story than all the others. This is caused by their confusion, they mixed this other 1978 Argentina "car levitation" case with this one.
| Id: | Topic: | Severity: | Date noted: | Raised by: | Noted by: | Description: | Proposal: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data | Severe | October 4, 2009 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Available TV show but I cannot understand it properly. | Help needed. | Opened. |
| 1 | Data | Severe | October 4, 2009 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Press sources exist but are not available to me. | Help needed. | Opened. |
Extraterrestrial visitors.
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Created/Changed By: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | January 23, 2012 | Creation, [gr1], [jt1], [rh1], [tv1], [ur1], [ar1], [dc1], [dh1], [sc1], [op1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 23, 2012 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | January 25, 2012 | In the Points to consider, addition of the paragraph "Source [op1] gives a quite different story..." In the summary, addition of "or entirely caused by the confusion with another mildly similar case in Medonza that year." |
