What happened
Before dawn on April 25, 1977, a Chilean Army patrol – Corporal Armando Valdés Garrido and several soldiers – was camped on the Pampa Lluscuma plateau in the Andes, in a border region in the north of the country. At about 4 a.m., a sentry noticed a bright light on a slope that seemed to be approaching the camp. Valdés went toward it to see what it was and, according to the soldiers, disappeared from view. He reappeared about 15 minutes later in a state of shock. According to members of the patrol, he had several days’ stubble on his face, and his calendar watch had stopped, showing a date several days later. Valdés reportedly said: “You don’t know who we are or where we come from, but we will return soon.” The story was covered by the Chilean and foreign press.
Witnesses
Soldiers of the Chilean Army patrol under Corporal Valdés; their accounts are known from the press and later interviews.
Explanations and hypotheses
The army did not make the results of its inquiry public, and the matter was quickly hushed up. Skeptics suggest collective suggestion, a prank, or a light phenomenon in the mountains, amplified by fatigue and high altitude. In later years Valdés avoided talking about the event and distanced himself from the original version, which some regard as an attempt to close the case and others as proof that it had been exaggerated.
Disputed A likely explanation exists, but some of the facts are still disputed.