El Taire: Cylindrical object crashes on Bolivian mountain
On May 6, 1978, at 4:15 p.m., a metallic cylindrical object crashed into Mount El Taire on the Bolivia-Argentina border, producing a sonic boom heard 150 miles away and shaking the ground. Bolivian forces located a dented 12-foot cylinder; US officials investigated under Project Moondust.
Background
Incident
On May 6, 1978 in the afternoon, a cylinder-shaped object about 4 metres across came down on the southern flank of Mount El Taire on the Rio Bermejo along the border between Bolivia and Argentina. It produced a loud sonic boom heard up to 120 miles away, shattered windows in villages 30 miles away, and shook the ground.
Witnesses and Search
Witnesses such as Velez Orozco, border policeman Natalio Farfan Ruiz, and policeman Juan Hurtado described the object as metallic, smoking, and flaming. Argentine border police searched for wreckage, while the Bolivian air force sent three aircraft and located the crash site on their side. An astronomer found a rockslide possibly triggered by the impact.
Recovery and Investigation
On May 14, police from Tarija found the object: a 3.6-metre metallic cylinder, dull and dented. US ambassador Paul H. Boeker enquired by telex; Secretary of State Cyrus Vance said no known re-entries were involved and referred to Project Moondust (1973). US officers Col. Robert Simmons and Maj. John Heise arrived. On May 25, Bolivian air force officers found a 100-metre gouge in the ground, burned rocks, and withered grass.
Significance
With thousands of witnesses, official responses, and US involvement, this is regarded as one of the most credible UAP crashes in South America.