What happened
In the fall of 1977, disturbing reports began coming in from Colares Island at the mouth of the Amazon and from nearby towns in the state of Pará. Residents, mostly fishermen, told of luminous objects called “chupa-chupa” – from the Portuguese word for “suck” – which at night directed beams of light at people, leaving burns and puncture-like marks on their skin. Some of the injured went to the local clinic, where they were treated by physician Wellaide Cecim Carvalho. People lit bonfires and spent the nights in groups. The Brazilian Air Force sent a team under the command of Captain Uyrangê Hollanda – Operation Prato (“Plate”) – which for several months documented the sightings in photographs, films, and reports.
Witnesses
Hundreds of residents of Colares and the surrounding area, physician Wellaide Cecim Carvalho, and military personnel from Operation Prato, including Captain Uyrangê Hollanda.
Explanations and hypotheses
Some of the operation’s documents were declassified in the 21st century. Skeptics attribute the events to mass panic, in which ordinary lights, planets, bats, and skin diseases took on new meaning. In a 1997 interview, Captain Hollanda claimed he had seen unknown objects up close; a few months later he committed suicide, which fueled speculation. The air force never presented definitive conclusions.
Unexplained There is no convincing explanation.
More: Wikipedia (en)