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This article was published in the daily newspaper The Citizen, South Africa, January 8, 2003, on pages 1 and 2.
An unidentified flying object was sighted over Pretoria, according to several city residents who claim they all witnessed the same object on Monday night.
One of several callers to The Citizen yesterday said they had seen a UFO flying over Brooklyn and Waterkloof areas between 8:30 and 9:15 p.m.
People interviewed claimed the object, which made no sound, was roundish and bright orange in colour.
"It was an orange bright light that was moving in a north to south direction as I approached the Brooklyn Circle. It was moving slowly at about 500 meters (1,650 feet) above the ground before it stopped, switching its lights on and off. It disappeared behind a hill in Waterkloof," said Moncilo Radovanovic.
Manager of a local takeaway Mike Vermeulen said he saw the orange object hovering above a hill before it moved off at high speed.
"At first I thought it was a plane, helicopter or one of those airships, but realised it was nothing I had seen before. It made no noise and was moving silently. It was very interesting to watch," said Vermeulen, "It was definitely not just a normal bright light."
But the sighting could not be officially confirmed. General Manager of Air Traffic and Navigational Services Arthur Bradshaw said, "We did not receive reports of anything."
A similar response was received from the Air Force, Police and airports in the vicinity.
