On the night of March 19, 1979, an extraordinary event unfolded near the Pahkakoski power plant in Yli-Ii, Finland, marking one of the country’s most significant UFO sightings based on duration, the number of objects observed, and the intensity of the experience.
Teuvo Kovalainen, an excavator operator, was conducting hourly measurements as part of groundwater pumping operations approximately 300-400 meters southwest of the power plant. The night was exceptionally clear and frosty, with no fog or mist in sight, setting the stage for a clear observation of the upcoming phenomena.
Just after midnight, while crossing the dam bridge to his worksite hut for a coffee break, Kovalainen noticed an unusual reddish light larger than the moon descending behind a distant forest. Initially, he thought it might be a Russian spacecraft descending. After his break, he returned to work, but the night was far from ordinary.
At around 1:30 AM, returning from another measurement round, he spotted a strong reddish light moving briskly westward about 400 meters away from the river. The light moved with a consistent pace despite the cold and quiet night, leaving Kovalainen puzzled about its origins.
By quarter to two, during a shift change, Kovalainen and a shift operator observed a vibrant reddish light 4,000 meters downstream of the power plant. Both men watched the object, which hovered about ten meters above the ground, emitting reddish light on one side and bluish on the other. As it slowly moved west, the object appeared to rotate around its vertical axis, alternately showing its red and blue lights more prominently.
The men were mesmerized by the object for about half an hour, noting that its body seemed to emit a glow extending several meters from its structure. As they continued their observations, they noted another, fainter pair of red and blue lights above the main lights, adding to the mystery.
After visiting another power plant six kilometers away, they returned to find not just one, but two objects, and then several more, totaling 14 or 15, hovering above the forest southwest of the bridge. The lights moved close to the ground and were difficult to count as they shifted continuously.
As Kovalainen returned to the dam alone, he noticed directional lights on two of the nearest objects, one pointing towards Oulu and the other towards the dam. Suddenly, one of the objects moved rapidly, covering several hundred meters to hide in the forest, while the other descended close to the snow-covered ground, illuminating itself with reflected light from the snow, revealing a disc-like shape about thirty meters in diameter, divided into two distinct sections with openings on each side.
Throughout the night, Kovalainen watched the silent procession of these objects until dawn. The last one was visible until just before 6:00 AM, by which time it was bright enough to see it distant, yet still as large as a house.
This long-duration sighting raises numerous questions: Why did these objects linger near the power plant for over four hours? Was the nearest object seeking auxiliary power from the plant? Given that UFO sightings near power plants and lines are relatively common worldwide, it prompts the whimsical idea that perhaps these celestial navigators regard our planet’s power stations as some sort of cosmic service stations!
This sighting at Pahkakoski remains a fascinating chapter in the annals of UFO encounters, illustrating the complex and often unexplained nature of such phenomena.
Source:
https://www.fufora.fi/artikkeleita/tunnetuimpia_suomalaisia_ufotapauksia
