CIA Report Lists Seven UFO Sightings Across Four Regions
Recorded between February and March 1968, the sightings are listed in the summary, but not described.
Recorded between February and March 1968, the sightings are listed in the summary, but not described.
A CIA report lists seven UFO sightings between February and March 1968, across four places. The summary does not describe what was seen.
A CIA Information Report cataloguing sightings of unidentified flying objects observed over Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan during the period 19 February to 25 March 1968. It presents the sightings in tabular form, listing the date, local time, area, direction of flight and particulars of each object, including bright lights, fast-moving objects trailing smoke, and accounts of recovered disc-shaped debris. The report notes that a more redacted version has been publicly available on the CIA website.
Object seen moving from North-East to South-West.
Object reported moving from South-east to North-west over Thangkarla, Lachung and Yumthang; over other points the direction was reported from North-east to South-west. Report notes the information is rather confusing but the North-east to South-west direction coincides with the Nepal sighting on the same date and time.
At local time 21.30, object seen moving East to West; report notes that since due east of Thimpu there is only Indian territory, the direction could well be from North-east to South-west, i.e. from the direction of Tibet. Object was following a circular path and left a trail of smoke behind it.
Object seen at 1300 hours moving East to West.
Object appeared from Chang La side and was seen moving towards Demchok, i.e. from north to south.
At local time 21.50, object observed.
A blazing object, flashing intermittently, accompanied by a loud thunder sound, disintegrated over the Kulci region; direction appeared to be north to south.
"A huge metallic disc-shaped object with a base of several feet and a few feet in height was found in a crater at Baltichaur, five miles NE of Pokhara. Portions of a similar object were found"
Why it matters: Describes physical recovery of disc-shaped metallic debris in a crater.
Page 6
"Rocket-like object leaving white-yellow trail about 20 yards long at a height of 20-25,000 feet."
Why it matters: Technical specifics on altitude and trail length.
Page 5
"A bluish colored object moving at high speed without any noise. It was bright enough to brighten the area."
Why it matters: Firsthand description of a silent, fast, luminous object.
Page 5
Edward Condon
Director of the Air Force-sponsored civilian investigation of UFOs; former head of the National Bureau of Standards · University of Colorado, Boulder · Page 1
Ladakh, India
Page 3
Nepal
Page 3
Sikkim, India
Page 3
Bhutan
Page 3
Chang La
Page 3
Fukche
Page 3
Koyul
Page 3
Walungchung, Nepal
Page 4
Lachung
Page 4
Thangu
Page 4
Thimpu, Bhutan
Page 5
Ane La area
Page 5
Demchok
Page 5
Tibet
Page 5
Kulci region, NW Nepal
Page 6
Baltichaur
Page 6
Pokhara, Nepal
Page 6
Source line and date of distribution / reporting source fields are blanked in the table header.
Likely reason: Protection of the reporting source or intelligence channel.
OCR quality is poor; place names and figures partly reconstructed from garbled text (e.g. 'Bhutam' in manifest, 'Polchara'/'Pokhara', 'Kulci'). Manifest notes a more redacted version exists on CIA's public website. The Condon Committee reference on page 1 appears to be a clipping fragment attached to the report.
The summary does not describe what was seen.
The summary does not say whether an ordinary explanation was found.
A report by the CIA, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, lists seven sightings of unidentified objects in the sky. They took place between February and March 1968 in four places: Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan.
The dates and numbers paint a clear picture: seven sightings were recorded in just over a month across a region spanning several places. But the official summary does not say what was seen in any of them. It leaves out the very thing we would most like to know.
The list begins on February 19 and ends on March 25, 1968. It records seven sightings during that period. The places named in the report are Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan. The summary notes that Sikkim is in India.
“UFO” means an object seen in the sky that has not been identified. That is all the summary says about the sightings. It gives no details about shape, color, or movement. So it is impossible to know whether the seven sightings involved the same thing or entirely different objects.
The report groups the sightings under a single heading: unidentified objects in the sky. It offers no account of who saw anything, whether anyone gave chase, or how the people who reported the sightings responded. The summary also gives no details about what happened before or after each sighting.
The report is also available in a redacted version published on the CIA’s public website. The summary does not say which parts were redacted. So it is impossible to tell whether the full report contained additional information.
The summary does not say who reported the sightings, what exactly was seen, or whether an ordinary explanation was found. It gives only the number of sightings, the date range, and the locations.
Seven sightings, four place names, and just over a month. But what crossed the skies above those places? The summary leaves the picture blank.