What happened
On January 7, 1970, at about 4 p.m., two cross-country skiers – Aarno Heinonen and Esko Viljo – were in a forest near the village of Imjärvi in what was then the rural municipality of Heinola. They heard a buzzing sound and saw a luminous, reddish, saucer-shaped object approaching them; it hovered low above the ground, shrouded in mist. In a beam of light appeared a short figure in a light-green suit, with a conical metal helmet and a black object in its hand. The whole event lasted only a few seconds. Both men felt ill and took a taxi to a doctor; Heinonen was unable to work for several months. The account was reported by the Finnish media and later by the British “Flying Saucer Review.”
Witnesses
Aarno Heinonen and Esko Viljo, residents of the Heinola area.
Explanations and hypotheses
No physical traces were found, and the sighting was very brief. Skeptics note discrepancies between the two witnesses’ drawings and descriptions, and the fact that in later years Heinonen told of dozens of further encounters, which undermined the credibility of the original account. The witnesses’ ailments were never explained medically. It is the most famous Finnish close encounter.
Unexplained There is no convincing explanation.