Residents and our regular visitors will already know what makes the Canary Islands special. It seems that it is no longer a well-kept secret, and it could be that aliens are already checking the islands out too, as this account from the 1970s would seem to suggest.

Unidentified Flying Objects or UFOs have always made headline news, but could also be linked to military operations, and would need to be kept secret. However, 40 years ago in the Canary Islands, a UFO was witnessed by thousands of residents across three different islands; the first being on June 22, 1976. The incident was first reported at 21.27 by all the crew of the ship Atrevida, a Spanish Naval ship near the coast of Fuerteventura.

The crew of the Atrevida described a yellow and blue light that was moving from the island of Fuerteventura towards the ship; the light stopped and hovered in one position. During the following two minutes the yellow and blue light went out, which was followed by a rotating beam. The crew reported that a halo appeared with yellow and blue light that lasted for around 40 minutes, but the original ball of light was no longer visible.

The captain of the Atrevida described the light as dividing into two parts; a blue cloud from the centre appeared and then vanished, and the upper part began to spiral quickly in an irregular fashion before disappearing. He also reported that the circular halo was bright enough to light up the nearby areas of land on Fuerteventura and the water surrounding the ship, so that this UFO was thought to be very close to the ship. However, the radar tracking on the ship did not detect any evidence of this sighting.

On the same day, a doctor in Tenerife was travelling by taxi to visit a patient in Las Rosas. When he arrived at the patient’s home, he saw a hovering motionless sphere, which he thought was made of a crystalline material and transparent, and that the sphere was electric blue in colour. He also described seeing three control consoles on a metal platform inside the sphere. The doctor described seeing tall images of people wearing some type of head protection and red clothing inside the sphere.

The doctor observed a semi-transparent central tube from the sphere releasing blue smoke, and then the sphere grew to the size of a 20 storey house, rose to a greater height, and made a whistling sound, but the crew and platform remained the same size. By this time, other people in the village had come out of their homes and also witnessed this strange sighting. The doctor described how the UFO then accelerated and moved away at a very fast speed, dissolving into a shape of a spindle that was blue and red underneath, which matched the description given by the captain of the Atrevida off the coast of Fuerteventura, some distance away. The doctor described the formation of a blue halo that had a brilliant light, which matched the comments made by the crew of the Atrevida.

Three days after these sightings, the Spanish Air Force authorised an official investigation into these strange events, and interviewed many of those who had witnessed the appearance of the large glowing light on June 22. This investigation attempted to categorise the witnesses in order to separate what they considered to be reliable witnesses from others described as possibly under the influence of alcohol or drugs, illiterate or mentally challenged and therefore considered to be unreliable. However, the investigator also interviewed aeronautical engineers, pilots and astronomers considered to be reliable.

All the evidence was collected that included photographs of the sphere, illustrations, drawings and accounts from witnesses. This investigation eventually reported that there were no military exercises operating on the date of the sightings of this sphere or other aerial traffic that could explain this unusual occurrence, and reported that witnesses had observed an unidentified aerial phenomenon on 22 June 1976.

Gran Canaria was also the destination for this UFO in November 1976, when it was sighted again personally by the Commanding General of Spain’s Air Force Canary Islands Air Zone whilst flying in a transport aircraft. Air force personnel at the air base and crew on board another naval ship docked at the air base harbour also reported seeing this UFO. Again, a large halo followed this UFO appearance at the air base on Gran Canaria, which was the same pattern as seen in June that year in Fuerteventura and Tenerife. This incident was also investigated by the Spanish Air Force and the report that was later published said that this was clearly a craft of unknown origin, and propelled by an unknown energy and was moving freely over the skies of the Canary Islands.

Over the years, these incidents seem to have been quietly forgotten, but there are still those who recount this story as vividly as the day that these incidents took place. Whether these incidents were linked to some kind of secret military exercise, or some kind of visit from another world, remains a mystery, but it might be worth carefully checking who is sitting next to you on the beach.

© Barrie Mahoney 2016

This article is part of the book 'Footprints in the Sand' by Barrie Mahoney.

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here