A man was killed in a fire caused by a UFO attack.

Farmer Joao Prestes Filho is considered the first UFO victim in Brazil. On the evening of March 4, 1946, he was struck by a beam from the sky and died the next day in terrible agony. The controversy surrounding his death continues to this day.

Fateful evening

Joao Prestes owned a farm on the outskirts of Aracariguama, a town near Sao Paulo. In 1946, there was no telephone, electricity, or doctor. Patients sought help from tax inspector Arasi Gomide, who had taken paramedic courses. He was the first to report the tragedy.

During the carnival week before Lent, Brazilians celebrated Mardi Gras. Joao, a 44-year-old man, sent his wife and six children to a carnival in a neighboring town. He decided to calmly go fishing on the river with his friend, 39-year-old Salvador dos Santos. The friends parted in the evening and returned with their catch. The clear sky did not portend a thunderstorm.

An hour later, Prestes rushed into his sister's house, exclaiming that a beam of light had entered the room through the window. The burns had covered almost the entire body of the unfortunate person, but their hair and clothes remained intact. Soon after, a nightmare began. The skin became transparent, and the flesh looked as if it had been boiled for many hours. The meat began to fall off the bones and onto the sheet, with some pieces remaining hanging on the tendons. Joao did not report any pain at the time. His nose and ears had fallen off and were rolling on the floor. His eyes bulged with horror, and his speech became unintelligible. His lips and cheeks no longer covered his jaws. The farmer was wrapped in sheets and placed in a truck, but there was not enough time to take him to the hospital. He eventually died and decomposed almost to the skeleton.

Joao Prestes shortly before his death (drawing from the words of Arasi Gomide).

The inspector's story was recorded by Professor Felipe Carrion, author of the acclaimed book "Discos Voadores: Improvisiveis e Conturbadores" ("Flying saucers: Impressive and disturbing"). Until recently, no one tried to find other witnesses.

The Nephew's story

In 1997, ufologists Pablo Manso and Claudio Syenaga accidentally saw an obituary in the newspaper: "The venerable Roque Prestes died at his home on April 6 at the age of 91. He was the brother of the tragically deceased Joao Prestes." Ufologists found out the address of the deceased in the editorial office and met with his son, 60-year-old Louis.

"Quite recently, shortly before his death, my father recalled the tragic death of his brother back in 1946," Luis Prestes said. – I was a nine-year-old boy, but I remember well what happened to Uncle Joao. It was carnival week, and Joao, who did not like holidays, decided to go fishing. The aunt and the children went to the carnival, leaving him a ready-made dinner.

When I learned of my uncle's terminal condition at my relatives' house, I desired to visit him, but was denied due to my young age and the potential for mental trauma. Joao Prestes reported to his father that upon opening the window, a ray or 'fire torch' entered the room, causing him to fall to the floor and feel as though his body was ablaze. Despite being wrapped in a blanket, Joao walked barefoot for over two kilometers to reach the city. My uncle suffered burns from head to waist, but his hair and clothes were not affected. I witnessed him being transported out of the house on a truck to Santana de Parnaiba, the nearest hospital. The sheets that covered him were blackened, likely from the burns. Unfortunately, Joao passed away during the transportation to the hospital."

A fiery ray burst into the room. Reconstruction of the incident.


When asked about the condition of the deceased 's body , Louis replied:

They say he decomposed alive, but that's not true. Father said that Joao had terrible burns all over his body, the flesh was blackened, but there were no deep wounds reaching to the bones. My father was a policeman. At his request, the experts started an investigation, but I don't know anything about the results. There were no traces of fire left in the room where Joao was burned.

My uncle had no enemies. Even on his deathbed, he repeated that he was attacked by an "otherworldly" ray of light. In those years, people constantly saw fireballs in Arakariguama and the surrounding area. They were called "assombres" – spirits, ghosts. Many believed that the balls were flying out of the mine of a closed gold mine. There were other strange things happening here. My late father said that in 1922 he saw a "werewolf" together with my grandfather and uncle.

Joao threw a stone at the wolf, hitting him on the front paw. The next day they saw that the neighbor was walking with his arm bandaged. Something equally frightening happened to Emiliano Prestes, the third brother, also my uncle. A few months after Joao's death, he was walking through the forest. A fireball appeared above him, forcing the terrified Emiliano to run to the edge of the canyon. But the beam caught up with him, surrounding him with a bright light. All he could do was fall on his knees and pray for salvation. Emiliano told us that he felt a strong fever. Fortunately, the beam moved aside and disappeared. My father even stopped going to parties at night because of these fireballs

Quote:

Mysterious objects

Trying to find the people who were present at the death of Joao, ufologists came to Vergalio Franciszko Alves – the second cousin of the deceased. The old man showed a passport confirming that he was 92 years old:

I was born and raised in Aracariguama, and at the age of 15 I went to work at the Morro Velho gold mine. When Joao died, there was a dry season without rains. After returning from fishing, he heated the water, washed and changed clothes. Suddenly a yellow beam hit the room. Joao felt his body and beard burning. In a panic, unable to move his hands, he opened the latch on the door with his teeth and ran barefoot to his sister's house.

Joao reported to the police chief that he was burned by an attacker who he believed was not of this world. Emiliano, Joao's neighbor, called for help and when I arrived at the scene, Joao was lying on the bed in pain. He spoke with difficulty and his skin felt like it was grilled. The most severe burns were visible on the victim's face and hands, which were twisted from the heat. However, his hair and clothes remained undamaged.

His feet weren't burned, but Joao had bruised them until they bled when he ran barefoot over sharp rocks. I didn't see any pieces of flesh falling off from Joao. His skin was burned, but it didn't fall off. I thought it was Boitat because he had attacked him once before. When Joao was working as a shepherd and driving a herd up a hill, he saw a fireball falling from the sky. The Boitat swept right over him, almost knocking him off his feet

Quote:

The word "boitat" locals call mysterious lights that haunt people. Meeting with them can end in illness or death. The first mention of the lights is contained in the records of the priest Jose de Ancheta, dated to the XVI century.

In Aracariguama, ufologists met with 70-year-old Hermes de Fonseca, who knew Prestes:

I remember when Joao died on March 5, 1946. He left behind a widow and six children. Although I did not see his body, witnesses reported that he was burned. According to the newspapers, his body was melting and falling apart. The area around the city was always chaotic. A year after Joao's death, his brother Emiliano witnessed two fireballs colliding and soaring up repeatedly.

Sparks flew from the blows, but the balls themselves did not collapse. In 1960, bus driver Celso Gomide saw a red balloon and stopped. When the object approached the cab, the frightened driver began to pray. The passengers were also shocked by the terrible sight of the ball spinning around the bus for 20 minutes. Objects are still seen today, but much less often

Quote:

Versions and hypotheses 

Relatives and acquaintances of Prestes suspected that his widow knew something but did not want to disclose it. After her husband's death, she refused to return and lived with her sister-in-law's children in cramped quarters. The widow did not attempt to sell the house with the farm, even though she was in dire need of money. She did not even retrieve her clothes, dishes, and valuables from the property.

The boarded-up house was demolished by the police using a bulldozer and buried in a large hole. The official explanation for this action was to prevent homeless people from occupying the building, although other abandoned houses in the area were left standing. It is worth noting that such extreme measures are typically reserved for cases of chemical or radiation contamination.

There is no nameplate on the grave where Joao Prestes is buried. The newspaper "Noticias Populares" of October 23, 1972 reported that the French government appealed to the local authorities with a request for the exhumation of the remains and was refused.

Ufologist Martin Shoh at first thought that he could become a victim of testing a new weapon. But the resulting burns could not have been caused by white phosphorus or napalm – these substances would have burned clothes, hair and burned the body to the bones. Skin-abscess gas primarily damages the eyes and lungs. He wouldn't let the victim walk two kilometers. Radiation damage capable of burning the skin kills on the spot. And the Brazilians or Americans could not have had any other weapons.

Antonio Ribeira from Barcelona suggested that Joao could have suffered from the exhaust of the "flying saucer" engine. "I don't think they deliberately wanted to burn or kill Prestes," he claimed. "The aliens didn't know what would happen if they flew too close to home."

Unfortunately, Antonio was incorrect. The sight of rays emanating from the sky still terrifies Brazilians, and the number of deaths directly attributed to UFOs has surpassed thirty. It is now widely accepted that UFOs prey on individuals in isolated areas. We can only hope that their hunting grounds do not expand and that they do not utilize their lethal weaponry in our vicinity.

---

About author:

Serg Toporkov Ufologist, Ph.D., blogger, I go on my own expeditions for UFOs. I use scientific methods to investigate the UAP phenomenon. Write to me

---

Related tags:

UFO  destroyed  death  attack  1946