Fallen object near Bermejo, Tarija
On 6 May 1978 an object reportedly crashed into a mountain near El Taire on the Bermejo River, on the Bolivia–Argentina border; Bolivian press described a metal egg and US cables discussed it.
1978 CE · -22.40, -64.60 · status: disputed
The account
A State Department telegram of 15 May 1978, 'Report of fallen space object', relayed local accounts, and CIA press summaries (17 May) noted conflicting details. Researchers link the case to the USAF's Moon Dust programme for recovering space debris.
The sceptical view
Descriptions of the object's size range from 4 to 24 m and the site moves between accounts. Space debris (a rocket stage) or a meteor is the conventional reading; no object was ever publicly shown.
The researched reading
A fireball and a reported crash on a remote border, with conflicting details. A meteor or re-entering debris explains it, with press embellishment adding the rest.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Something known, misidentified | 45% | A bright fireball or re-entering space debris, seen across a wide area, fits the reports; US cables treated it as a possible fallen space object under Moon Dust procedures. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 20% | A meteorite impact would cause a flash, noise and possibly a crater, but nothing was recovered. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 8% | Witnesses’ estimates of size and distance for a fireball are poor. |
| Secret human technology | 7% | A secret military test or debris recovery would explain official silence. |
| Undetermined | 7% | The share the reading had given to fabrication on doubt rather than evidence: the record does not settle it either way. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 5% | Some press accounts (a metal egg, an object of 4 to 24 m) were embellished or invented. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 5% | No object was shown, so there is little to support anything unknown. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 3% | An unusual atmospheric phenomenon is possible but not supported. |
Official position: US cables reported a possible fallen space object; no object was ever publicly shown.