07-27-1999
Swedish Military Search for Fallen UFO in Lake
By Clas Svahn/UFO-Sweden
Translation from
Swedish by Eileen Fletcher
What was
it that crashed down into the 13-metre-deep Lake Backsjön north of Arvika in
Värmland? An object with small wings, say the witnesses. Nothing at all, say
the military who searched for many weeks. It was well after midday on the
27th of July 1999, at least four people around Lake Backsjön outside
Gunnarskog saw how an oblong object plunged down from the sky. Some of the
witnesses said they'd also seen small wings sticking out from the 5 metre
long and 1,5 metre wide body. The object crashed down with a splash and water was thrown into the
air. One of the witnesses contacted the rescue station in Arvika which
in turn contacted the police, who sent a report to FO 52 - area defence in
Kristinehamn - it finally reached operations command at milostaben in
Strängnäs.
We
interviewed the witnesses who had all seen the object come down, said chief
of staff Stellan Jansson, who was responsible for the search.
During
late August many test dives were made in the lake, and the military worked
with the security police and the rescue station, evaluating the reliability
of the witnesses. The conclusion was that the witnesses were reliable and
that a greater and more costly effort was needed. On the 13th of September
they renewed the investigation around the 2 kilometre long and 800 metre wide
lake under the code name "Operation Sea Find". There were 14 men,
eight of whom were divers, along with Sweden's most sophisticated sonar
equipment and an under-water camera. Personnel from operations command in
StrÉngÉs were also present. When the military began showing interest in the
lake at the beginning of August, the public were presented with a completely
different story. Arvika Nyheter's newsreporter Kjell Emanuelsson received the
reply that it was a home defence practice, whilst Anne-Marie Gundahl who lives
at Lake Backsjön heard that the divers were training to make bridges!
We got to
know that it could be something which was dangerous if it ended up in foreign
hands, says Birgitta Jakobsson from the nearby community of Gunnarskog.
Confusion
as to what the military were up to at the lake was great. According to
Stellan Jansson, it was all due to a break-in at a mobilisation supply depot
in the area some weeks earlier. Home guardsmen were responsible for guarding
the area whilst repairs were carried out, at the same time as checks were
made to see if anything had been stolen.
Then we
drove down and interviewed the witnesses who had all seen the same thing. At
the same time there were also home guardsmen in the area. Then at the end of
August, we began a three-man diving operation in the lake.
With this
very strong coalition we were able to make a thorough search from September
13th to September 16th. We gave it all we'd got.
How much
time did you set aside for the search?
Including
the preparation time and reconnaissance, it was ten days. In the end we had
searched through 75 per cent of the lake. We were methodical, so that we were
sure that the object that had come down into the lake had not glided further
away. We really tried to cover the whole area.
From the
shore, the locals around Lake Backsjön could follow the activities of the
military. From seven in the morning to seven in the evening, they could see
divers working in the 13-metre-deep lake. Visibility was ten centimetres. But
with the help of an underwater craft equipped with ultrasound and a camera
capable of seeing an object only a couple of centimetres in size on the
bottom of the lake, nothing was left to chance. If the same area had been so
thoroughly searched by divers, it would have taken a year with the poor
visibility, according to Stellan Jansson.
No matter
how small the object had been, we would have found it, said Stellan. Were you
surprised that nothing was found?
I must
admit that I was. With the powerful equipment and effort made this week, I
really thought we'd find something. The search in Lake Backsjön gave the
military food for thought. Here were good witnesses who related a plausible
story. But after investigations, their claims could not be verified.
We have
to treat the reports as reliable, but the search has not found anything and
we do not know exactly what we're looking for, says Colonel Yngve Johansson
at FO 52.
The
result after many weeks of searching was only a metal barrel and a plastic
bag.
It has been a bit difficult. The people are very reliable and have really put
themselves forward to help us in any way imaginable, said Stellan Jansson.
They were
interested themselves to see us bring something up from the lake. But one
knows how the sun can reflect when at a certain angle - perhaps a fish leaped
or a bird dived down..... Certainly seven people could experience an optical
illusion, it does happen. One cannot dismiss the possibility altogether.
After
midday on the 16th of September, the search was discontinued. On October 1st,
a report was finished for further distribution to the commanding officer, and
the military intelligence and security at headquarters in Stockholm. Two
pages were not classified but transcripts from the security police's interviews
and a detailed description of the technics used during the search were
classified. UFO-Sweden has filed a request to de-classify parts of the
report. In all the search costed 150.000 Swedish crowns. When I asked the
colonel of the first grade Yngve Johansson at FO 52, what people who see
unidentified objects in the sky should do, he replied:
I think
that the public should report all the information and possibilities to us. We
can then build up a picture of what happened. One incident does not give us
the answer, but many could.
This
reference: http://www.ufo.se/english/news/index.html
With thanks
to Clas Svahn of UFO-Sweden for permission to post his text to this
website.-CF-
UFOCAT PRN – 143903
UFOCAT
URN – 143903 UFO Magazine (United Kingdom), May 2000, p. 72
Europe –
Sweden, Varmland
Lake
Backsjön Latitude 59-48-00 N, Longitude
12-32-00 E (D-M-S)
Reference: http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic.
Arvika Latitude 59-40-00 N, Longitude
12-34-00 E (D-M-S)
Gunnarskog Latitude
59-49-60 N, Longitude 12-33-00 E
Kristinehamn Latitude
59-19-60 N, Longitude 14-07-00 E
Reference: http://www.fallingrain.com/world/
Europe – Sweden, Sodermanlands
Milostaben Unable to
locate –CF-
Strängnäs Latitude 59-22-60 N, Longitude
17-01-60 E (D-M-S)
Reference: http://www.fallingrain.com/world/
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