Southern Africa Unexplained

Case 6 (UFO Afrinews 2) · UFO Afrinews No 5, January 1992

Letter from Gunter Hofer: the Mutare sawmill motor failure (La Rochelle extension)

a sawmill in Mutare, La Rochelle, Zimbabwe

What was reported

Gunter Hofer of Harare writes about Hind's extension of the La Rochelle case in Afrinews 2, where one motor at a Mutare sawmill broke down at the moment a flash of light occurred. He suggests a strong electromagnetic pulse induced a current in the motor's wiring, melting the solder and damaging it; such pulses can come from powerful transmitters, nuclear bombs or sunspots, which is why sensitive military electronics are shielded in metal casings and earthed. The motors inside the sawmill building were probably spared because zinc sheeting or metal frames and pillars carried the induced current to earth. The letter offers a physical mechanism rather than a new sighting, and Hind prints it without reply.

What Hind made of it

Printed without editorial reply.

Explanation offered
Electromagnetic pulse inducing a current that melted the motor's solder; metal shielding of the building explains the unaffected motors

In their words

  • This could be due to a strong current being induced in the wiring motor, causing the solder to melt and damage the motor.

    Gunter Hofer, spread 24

Cross references

  • UFO Afrinews No 2, Case 6 (La Rochelle)

Connected

  • An Extension of La Rochelle? Sawmill motor failure near MutareCase fileHind follow-up

    Gunter Hofer's letter in Afrinews 5 proposes an electromagnetic-pulse mechanism for the sawmill motor's melted armature solder and why indoor motors were spared. A reader's mechanism, not a new observation; Hind printed it without reply.

Source

Cynthia Hind, UFO Afrinews No 5 (January 1992), spread 24

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