Operation Prato

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Operation Prato
ET Colares
ET Colares Photo: LeRoc · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
TypeProgram or study
Also known asOperação Prato, Colares

Operation Prato (Portuguese: Operação Prato, "Operation Saucer") was a Brazilian Air Force investigation in late 1977 into reports of strange lights on and around Colares island in the state of Pará, in the Amazon region. Residents described lights they called chupa-chupa ("suck-suck") that they said attacked people with beams. The operation's files were released by the Brazilian government decades later.[1][2]

The reports

Jacques Vallée 2024
Jacques Vallée 2024 Photo: Cmichel67 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

In 1977, many residents of Colares and nearby communities reported glowing lights in the sky and over the water. Some said beams from the lights struck them, leaving burn-like marks, weakness and anaemia; residents held night vigils with fires and fireworks to keep the lights away. French-American researcher Jacques Vallée, who later visited the area, reported injuries and several deaths he considered consistent with exposure to microwave radiation. Other claims, such as that the lights drew blood from hundreds of people, are unverified.[1][3]

The operation

Illustration of official papers and files
Illustration: official papers and files. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

After the mayor of Colares asked for help, the Brazilian Air Force sent a team led by Captain Uyrangê Hollanda. The first phase ran from 20 October to 11 November 1977 and the second from 25 November to 5 December 1977. Team members photographed and filmed lights and interviewed witnesses. The operation ended after about four months, officially reporting no unusual phenomena, although its photographs and reports were preserved.[1][4]

Hollanda's interview and death

Illustration of a radar screen tracking unknown returns
Illustration: a radar screen tracking unknown returns. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

In 1997, Hollanda gave a long interview to Brazilian UFO researchers Ademar Gevaerd and Marco Antônio Petit, describing close sightings of objects during the operation. Three months later he was found dead at his home, apparently by suicide, which fuelled conspiracy theories.[1][5]

Release of documents

Illustration of a photograph of an unknown object
Illustration: a photograph of an unknown object. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

Official files, photographs and reports from the operation are held by the Brazilian National Archives and were released in stages from 2009 as part of the Brazilian Air Force's opening of its UFO records.[1][2][6]

References

This page was last edited on 31 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.

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