UFO Case Report:

Object hovers over sea and immobilizes witnesses in Togo, Africa

Date: March 29, 1974
Location: Lomé, Togo

A French worker on vacation on the coast of Togo, along with a Togolese woman, were on the beach when they noticed a sharp whistle coming from the sea. They saw a dark mass which approached from over water and which stopped at 200-300 m in front of the witnesses. Suddenly, three bright lights from the object paralyzed the witnesses. Several physiological effects plagued the man afterwards, including deaf spells, fainting, and anxiety.

Drawing of the object and the depression under it, in the sea, according a sketch by the witness. Drawing by Joel Mesnard. (credit: Waterufo.net / Phenomenes Spatiaux)

Classification & Features

Type of Case/Report: StandardCase
Hynek Classification: CE2
# of Witnesses: Multiple
Special Features/Characteristics: Water-Related, Physiological Effects

Full Report / Article

Source: Waterufo.net / Joel Mesnard, Phenomenes Spatiaux, Mar. '76

[excerpt from the article]

By Joel Mesnard

At the end of March 1974, A.W. a French worker on vacation on the coast of Togo, said to have been one of the witnesses of a very interesting UFO sighting.

He had spent the evening of 28 March in the company of a Togolese woman, whom he had just met, From 11 PM to 1 AM they swam 2-3 km east of a large tourist hotel, Tropicana, which is built next to the sea, a few km east of Lomé. Then they spent a while on the beach, near a dune where coconut trees grew. The night was dark and the sky very clear. Many stars were visible.

At 1:45 when they began to leave the beach, A.W. and his friend noticed a sharp whistle, very annoying, coming from the sea. They saw a dark mass which approached from over water and which stopped at 200-300 m in front of the witnesses. They found themselves on dry sand but soon a large wave then washed over them.

A DEPRESSION AND A MINI-TIDAL WAVE

They then were afraid of being dragged away in the water and not being able to regain the shore. A.W. succeeded in grabbing the trunk of a coconut palm. He held on with his right arm, holding on to the woman with the other. At their feet was now a continuous barrage of strong waves, so that one instant before the sea came within 50 m of the dune

Suddenly, three bright lights showed on the object blinding the witnesses. It was like three projections pointed in their direction, other luminous beams coming from the sides of the object, perhaps also from its upper side or from the unseen side of it. Certain of the beams seemed oriented upward, but A.W. could not confirm this, so much did the three beams pointed toward shore blind him. In all the light it was white that dominated, but there was also yellow, pink and blue-green. A.W. wore glasses that were lightly tinted. He was struck by the blue and green colors of the waves lighted by the object. The most interesting detail of his recount concerned the surface of the sea under the object. It was not flat but dug in the form of a depression. A.W. estimated its depth at a few meters, 5 or 6 perhaps. Its diameter was comparable to the length of the object, on the order of 25-30 meters.

PARALYZED BY THE LIGHTS

Still crouched by the coconut tree, legs in the water, the witnesses didn't move. It was not astonishment or fear that paralyzed them. The lights of the spotlights according to A.W. were there for something. Although before the appearance of the object the temperature was mild and agreeable, there was a heat in the lights; that Mr. A.W. described as terrifying. The woman and he were sweating profusely.

DEPARTURE OF THE OBJECT

Suddenly a relative coolness was felt: the object moved away toward the open sea very rapidly, without gaining altitude. Its lights went out suddenly, and it disappeared. The night became dark again and the sea went back to normal. It was 2:05 AM. by A.W.'s diving watch. The appearance of the phenomenon lasted about 20 min.

The witnesses started for the hotel Tropicana where they left each other. Although the whistle had ceased with the departure of the object, an annoying auditory sensation persisted in both of them. A.W. asked his friend not to speak to anyone about what they had seen. He feared being considered crazy and perhaps being thrown into jail.

EFFECTS FELT LATER BY A.W.

The next morning A.W. woke up and felt totally deaf, with an impression of lightness or emptiness.

The next day he was suddenly burdened by an unexplainable sleepiness and he fell on his bed like a sack of potatoes. He slept three hours and woke with a headache which bothered him greatly. The hotel receptionist gave him a couple of pills which helped quickly.

He had several fainting spells over the next few days. He was affected a long time by what he considered a sequel of his adventure. Since that day he has felt very nervous, although he is usually pretty calm. He has deaf spells and sometimes feelings of suffocation accompanied by anxiety.

This situation is getting better bit-by-bit. But was persisting still when I met A.W. almost two years after his observation. We don't know the long-term effects on the woman.

Mr. .A.W is not interested in the problems poised by UFO appearances. All the same, sometime after his adventure in Togo, he observed one evening, near Thionville in Northwest France, the passage in the sky of a blue ball of fire followed by a red trail. Some friends to whom he had confided his African adventure several months after, advised him to report it to GEPA, to which he sent a detailed letter. I met A.W. in February 1976 and his testimony appeared sincere and disinterested. I noted that he did not try to explain it and limited himself to describing it as objectively as possible.

Case ID: 794 edit: 794

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