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PDF · CIAPURSUE Release 03

Department of War PURSUE File

CIA-UAP-016, Sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan

Ladakh, Nepal | Sikkim, India | Bhutam·1968

Declassified

Editorial summary

This 1968 CIA information report compiles seven sightings of unidentified flying objects across Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan between February 19 and March 25, 1968. Witnesses described bright objects moving over mountainous terrain, including a fast-moving red and green object, a bluish high-speed object, and a rocket-like object leaving a long white-yellow trail. Some reports mention thunder-like sounds and flashes. One account describes a metallic disc-shaped object reportedly found in a crater. The report notes that some directional details were confusing and possibly misreported.

Editorial summary written by govweird from the declassified document text. The official government description follows below.

Government description

A 1968 report about UFO sightings in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan. Seven UFO sightings are listed that took place between 19 Feb. to 25 Mar. 1968. A more redacted version of the report has been available on CIA's public website.

Caption issued by the U.S. Department of War on war.gov/ufo. Verbatim, unedited.

Originating agency

Central Intelligence Agency

Record type

PDF

Incident date

1968

Incident location

Ladakh, Nepal | Sikkim, India | Bhutam

Release tranche

Release 03 (May 8, 2026)

Distribution

Cleared for public release

Original document

PDF hosted by war.gov. If the embedded viewer fails to load, open the file directly.

More from CIA

Source: war.gov/ufo · PURSUE Release 03

PURSUE = Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters. Records released by the U.S. Department of War on May 8, 2026 are unresolved cases for which the government cannot make a definitive determination, and the Department has invited private-sector analysis.