Description
Between late 1977 and early 1978, the small island community of Colares on the coast of Pará state in northern Brazil experienced a wave — a "flap" — of UAP activity that remains one of the most thoroughly documented and disturbing cases in the history of the phenomenon.
Residents reported seeing luminous objects of various shapes — some described as discs, others as cylinders or "chandeliers" — moving at low altitude over the island, particularly at night. Dozens of witnesses reported being struck by beams of light emanating from the objects. The beams produced burns, puncture-like marks, and in some cases a lasting weakness or fatigue. Local health clinics documented injuries that could not be explained by known causes.
The situation became severe enough that the mayor of Colares formally requested assistance from the Brazilian Air Force. In response, the Air Force launched Operação Prato ("Operation Saucer"), a formal investigation that dispatched a team of military personnel — including Captain Uyrangê Bolivar Soares Nogueira de Hollanda Lima — to the region. Over several months the team produced hundreds of photographs, sketches, and motion picture footage of the objects, along with extensive written reports.
When Operação Prato concluded in 1978, its findings were classified by the Brazilian military and remained so for nearly two decades. The documents and film footage were only partially declassified in the 1990s and 2000s. In 1997, Captain Uyrangê gave an extended television interview describing his experiences during the operation, including his own sighting of a large object and his belief that the phenomenon was real and unexplained. He died under disputed circumstances shortly after the interview aired.
Colares is significant both for the volume of physical evidence documented by a national military investigation and for the reported physiological effects on witnesses — a category of UAP incident often compared to the 1980 Cash-Landrum case in Texas and the 1967 Falcon Lake case in Canada.
Video Documentation
Colares Part 1: They Came from the Sea and Sky
Part 1 of a series covering the Colares UFO flap that occurred in Northern Brazil from late 1977 to early 1978.
Colares Part 2: Operação Prato
Part 2 — the Brazilian Air Force's formal investigation into the Colares flap, codenamed Operação Prato.
Colares Part 3: A Story Not Forgotten By All
Part 3 — subsequent investigations by civilian researchers into the events and the military documentation.
Interview: Captain Uyrangê Bolivar — Brazilian Air Force
Interview with Captain Uyrangê Bolivar Soares Nogueira de Hollanda Lima, who commanded Operação Prato and described the hostile UFO encounters in Colares in 1977.
Notes
This case remains under investigation. If you hold documentation relating to Operação Prato or the Colares incidents, please contact us via the Report a UAP form.
Further reading: The Brazilian Air Force's Operação Prato documents were partially declassified and released through the Brazilian National Archive; additional analysis was published by researchers including A. J. Gevaerd and the Brazilian UFO research organisation CBPDV.