The Skiers at Imjärvi
Two Finnish skiers on a winter afternoon saw a glowing cloud descend on them, and inside its light, a small figure holding a box.
What was reported
On 7 January 1970, two men, Aarno Heinonen and Esko Viljo, were skiing near Imjärvi in southern Finland in the late afternoon. They said they heard a buzzing sound and saw a bright light coming towards them, surrounded by a reddish-grey mist.
Inside the light, they said, was a small creature, about 90 centimetres tall, pale green, holding a black box that shone a beam of light. Then the mist and the light vanished. Both men went public with their story, and it became Finland's best-known close encounter.
Explanations offered
There's no physical evidence besides the men's accounts, and investigators couldn't confirm what they saw. Suggestions have included ball lightning or another rare atmospheric light, made stranger by the cold and the dusk. The two men stuck to their story.
- When
- 7 January 1970
- Where
- Imjärvi, near Heinola, Finland
- Witnesses
- Two skiers, Aarno Heinonen and Esko Viljo
- Status
- Unexplained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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