Alt CampAlt EmpordàAlt PenedèsAlt UrgellAlta RibagorçaAnoiaAranBagesBaix CampBaix EbreBaix EmpordàBaix LlobregatBaix PenedèsBarcelonèsBerguedàCerdanyaConca de BarberàGarrafGarriguesGarrotxaGironèsLluçanèsMaresmeMoianèsMontsiàNogueraOsonaPallars JussàPallars SobiràPla d'UrgellPla de l'EstanyPrioratRibera d'EbreRipollèsSegarraSegriàSelvaSolsonèsTarragonèsTerra AltaUrgellVallès OccidentalVallès OrientalAlt CampAlt EmpordàAlt PenedèsAlt UrgellAlta RibagorçaAnoiaAranBagesBaix CampBaix EbreBaix EmpordàBaix LlobregatBaix PenedèsBarcelonèsBerguedàCerdanyaConca de BarberàGarrafGarriguesGarrotxaGironèsLluçanèsMaresmeMoianèsMontsiàNogueraOsonaPallars JussàPallars SobiràPla d'UrgellPla de l'EstanyPrioratRibera d'EbreRipollèsSegarraSegriàSelvaSolsonèsTarragonèsTerra AltaUrgellVallès OccidentalVallès Oriental
CA|ES|EN

Diari de Catalunya

L'Hospitalet Has Its Own Declassified UFO File in Spain

An official Spanish document details a sighting of an unidentified object on July 4, 1978, from Barcelona and L'Hospitalet.

Generic image of an unidentified flying object over a city at night.
IA

Generic image of an unidentified flying object over a city at night.

While the United States declassifies files on unidentified aerial phenomena, Spain has already done the same with its own documents, including a case observed from L'Hospitalet and Barcelona in 1978.

The declassification of unidentified flying object (UFO) files by the American administration has once again brought these phenomena into focus. However, Spain initiated a similar process in 1991, making available to the public a total of 80 files and 1,900 pages of documents related to sightings between 1962 and 1995, which can be consulted at the Virtual Defense Library.
Among these Spanish documents, file 780704 stands out, detailing the observation of an object on July 4, 1978. This phenomenon was witnessed from several Catalan towns, including Barcelona, L'Hospitalet, and Sabadell. Initially, there was speculation that the object might have been detected by radar at El Prat airport.
The official investigation began following a request from the Barcelona Parapsychology and Ufology Group (APU) to the Air Force. The response, signed by a general in charge of the air sector of Catalonia on September 1, 1978, indicated that the airport's control tower had not detected any unidentified object that day. However, it was mentioned that during the same month, communications had been received about balloons launched from Sicily by United States personnel, which, due to their low speed, were not detected by radar.
This case, which includes no photographs or testimonies beyond the initial request, is set against a backdrop of significant public interest in UFO phenomena, as evidenced by the release of Steven Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind shortly before the sighting. Years later, on May 15, 2014, another object captured attention in L'Hospitalet, which was ultimately identified as an atmospheric probe launched by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

Related News