All language subtitles for Strange.Evidence.S02E08.The.Omen.of.Blood.River.1080p.MAX.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BETHELL_track3_[eng]

Narrator: worldwide, six billion
Cameras are watching us.

On our streets,
At work, and in our homes.

They capture things
That seem impossible.

It defies the laws of physics.

Man:
Ah, this is unbelievable, man.

Narrator: experts carry out
Forensic analysis

Of these unusual events.

There's got to be some
Explanation for what's going on.

Woman: [ screams ]

Narrator: coming up,
Horror in the streets

As a city drowns in blood.

This could be the end of days.

Narrator: car munching
Canines have started

Eating automobiles.

These dogs seem possessed.

They're just tearing
That car apart.

Narrator:
And the weird sound that is

Freaking out the world.

When you hear these
Sounds your reaction is

This is something supernatural.

Narrator: bizarre phenomenon,

Mysteries caught
On surveillance,

What's the truth behind this

Strange evidence?

-- captions by vitac --
Www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by
Discovery communications

Narrator:
Now, a gory tide of death.

It's horrifying, it looks
Like a river of blood.

Narrator: as residents run
For their lives...

Seems like the apocalypse.

Narrator: ...Experts fear
It could already be too late.

It's like a biohazard
On a mega scale.

♪♪

Narrator:
Dhaka, capital of bangladesh.

A city with over 18 million
In one of the most

Densely populated
Areas of the world.

[ train whistle blows ]

Rates of violent crime,
Murder, and terrorism

Make dhaka one of
The most dangerous cities

In the world.

[ gunshots ]

September 13, 2016,

Student, amir hossain
Heads home from college

But as he nears his house
He's frozen to the spot

By a terrifying sight.

For hossain, the shocking
Scene points to a terrifying

message from the heavens.

For many,
It's an all too real

Version of scenes depicting
Religious armageddon.

In the bible, the river nile
In egypt turns to blood,

One of the 10 plagues
Sent from god.

And in islam, the most awful
Torment of hell is to swim

In a river of
Blood for eternity.

they might be thinking,
This could be the end of days.

it seems like the apocalypse.

Narrator:
The sinister footage shocks

And mystifies scientists.

it's like someone severed
An artery in dhaka.

Narrator: records show that this
Isn't the first time

That blood has appeared
On a city street.

In kerala, india in
2001 freak storms

Produced downpours
Of blood red rain.

The bizarre rains fell across
The state for two months.

Stranger still,
In 2008 in la sierra, choco

A tiny village deep in
The columbian jungle,

Locals reported a red
Rainfall that lasted

For 30 minutes.

When scientists took
Samples the shocking results

Revealed that it was
Not rain, but blood.

It remains a mystery that
200 residents of the village

Are convinced they
Witnessed a genuine miracle.

♪♪

Chemist, kishore hari
Analyzes the dhaka footage.

He finds it almost
Impossible to believe

That it's really blood
Pouring through the city.

He suspects the intense
Color of the red liquid

May point to a catastrophic
Industrial accident.

we never see this
Much color in water,

particularly this reddish color.

The only time
I've ever seen this before

Is when there's been
A chemical plant spill.

Narrator: kolontar, hungary,
October 2010.

An aluminum plant's
Toxic waste dam fails

Releasing a red tidal wave.

The high iron oxide
Content gives the pollution

A blood red color.

And sodium oxide
Causes chemical burns.

Hundreds flee as
The flood engulfs three towns

Leaving eight dead and over
120 injured in its wake.

Unfortunately, in human history

We've had numerous
Chemical leaks

Causing devastation
For generations

And this may be no different.

Narrator:
A check of records reveals

One industry in the city
With a history of creating

Huge amounts of toxic waste.

It turns out that dhaka

Does have a leather
Tanning industry.

So you've got the hides of
Animals that are processed

And turned into leather.

It's a tremendously
Polluting industry.

Narrator: the city's tanning
Industry creates around

Three quarters of
A million cubic feet

Of toxic waste every day.

That's enough to fill eight
Olympic swimming pools

And within all this toxic waste
Is a killer chemical agent.

Arsenic, deadly arsenic.

Narrator:
Arsenic attacks the body's cells

Leading to multiple organ
Failure, hemorrhaging,

And agonizing death.

Difficult to detect,
It became the poison of choice

For murderers in
Victorian britain,

With a third
Of all poisoning cases

Involving arsenic,

And that's just
The murders that came to trial.

In dhaka, if this flood
Contains high levels of arsenic

Millions of people
Could be at risk.

We are looking at
Poisons being released

Right into the heart
Of an urban center.

Narrator:
It's not just arsenic released

From tanning factories
That's a problem.

The chemical exists in
The groundwater in dhaka

And in many countries worldwide,

Including the united states.

According to the u.S.
Environmental protection agency

Drinking water from
Private, unlicensed wells

May be endangering
13 million americans

Even at low doses.

Over time, arsenic is
Linked to heart disease

And cancers of
The skin and lungs.

But when kishore hari
Discovers images

Of the blood red
Waters taken two days

After the original footage
He spots a vital new clue.

It seems like
The color is changing.

Slowly transitioning
From a bright red

Into kind of a duller,
Almost rusty red color.

Narrator:
It's a shocking discovery.

One that means hari must
Concede that everyone's

Worst fears have been realized.

This is real blood in the water.

♪♪

Narrator: coming up,
Why are these dogs

Tearing a car to pieces?

Man's best friend, they can
Also be time bombs on legs.

♪♪

Narrator:
California residents are hit by

A weird wave of energy

As a mysterious hole
Appears in the sky.

It looks like
The alien mothership is

About to descend
Through the clouds.

Narrator:
And experts race to figure out

Why this streets of dhaka
Are running red with blood.

Is it human blood?

♪♪

Narrator: a crimson tide is
Drowning dhaka,

One of the worlds
Most dangerous cities.

New images of the flood
Showing the liquid

Changing from red to brown

Convinces chemist, kishore hari
Of a horrifying truth.

this is real blood
In the water,

because over time it oxidizes,

Changing from that bright red

When you first get that
Cut and see the blood,

To more of a rusty color.

Narrator:
Science journalist, jeff wise

Investigates where
This river of blood

Might've come from.

He examines
The date of the video.

Could there by any
Link with islam?

In particular a muslim
Ritualistic festival

Called, eid al-adha, also known

As the feast of the sacrifice.

the feast of the sacrifice
Commemorates how abraham

was asked by god to
Sacrifice his son

And so every year in
Celebration of this

The worshipers will
Sacrifice an animal.

In the course of doing this

A tremendous amount
Of blood is generated.

Narrator:
But it would take not one,

But countless
Slaughtered animals

To drown a city in blood.

It's horrifying, this is
A literal river of blood.

♪♪

Narrator: animal sacrifices
On a huge scale

Are reported in other
Parts of the world.

In nepal, the world's
Largest mass slaughter

Takes place every five
Years in gratitude

To the hindu goddess, gadhimai.

In 2009, over half
A million buffalo, goats,

And chickens were decapitated.

Five million people
Traveled to witness

The two-day bloody ritual.

The practice of animal sacrifice

Even reaches suburban america.

In san antonio texas
In march 2018,

12 people were arrested
After neighbors witnessed

The group dismembering
Animals with knives.

In dhaka, it transpires
That no fewer than

100,000 cows, goats and sheep
Have their throats slit

And are dismembered.

Countless gallons of
Blood are spilled.

Unfortunately,
There was a sewer back up

So that blood flowed
Out into the streets

And gave us this
Brilliant red color

Flowing through the streets.

Narrator: but amir hossain,
Who is witnessed

Many other muslim sacrifices

Believes the blood on
The street is an ill omen.

Narrator: now, packs of car
Eating dogs terrorize locals.

These dogs seem possessed.

They're just tearing
That car apart.

Narrator: some fear this
Ferocious attack is personal.

Maybe these dogs
Are exacting revenge

On someone that they
Really don't like.

♪♪

Narrator: october 2016,

Sakarya, turkey, 8 a.M.

In the middle of
The city mechanic cem acar

Arrives at work.

He checks surveillance footage

Showing the previous
Night's activity.

At first everything
Is quiet, but then,

Acar can't believe what he sees.

[ dogs barking ]

The crazed animals cause
Thousands of dollars in damage

To acar's car.

Experts are shocked

By this out of character
Canine behavior.

seeing them as pets
You think they're very docile

and you don't really expect
Them to have this strength.

Narrator:
But biologist leslie samuel

Wonders whether the footage

Is showing
An aggressive instinct

Reemerging in dogs
15,000 years after

They were first tamed by man.

dogs for most people
Are faithful companions.

they're man's best friend,

But they are also
Dangerous animals.

Narrator: in america,
Around 40 people are killed

Every year by dogs.

These alarming
Stats make the dog

One of the deadliest
Animals in the u.S.

More likely to kill you
Than sharks, alligators,

And bears combined.

Man's best friend, they can
Also be time bombs on legs.

♪♪

Narrator: the strength
And aggression of some dogs

Has even been
Harnessed as a weapon.

the romans field
Units just of dogs

and they would march
In side by side

next to their foot soldiers
During conflicts.

Now these war dog units were
Used all over the roman empire

Including what is now
Known as modern day turkey.

Narrator: the molossus,
The ancestor of today's mastiff

Was a large aggressive dog
Bred for one purpose, to kill.

[ growling ]

Starved before combat
By their roman masters

These vicious animals could
Tear through enemy lines,

Savagely ripping
Soldiers limb from limb.

Other units were
Actually designed to

Run underneath horses
And disembowel.

Narrator:
Today, breeders in the u.S.

Have interbred
Neapolitan mastiffs,

A direct descendant of
The ancient molossus,

Creating a new supersized beast.

The america molossus.

If breeders are tying
To bring this bloodline

Of war dog back in
The united states,

Who's to say breeders
In turkey aren't

Doing the same thing?

Narrator: but a check of
The size of the dogs

In the footage reveals
That none of them

Are large enough
To be a molossus.

Zoologist, roland kays
Examines the surveillance tape.

He notices that these
City dogs appear to be

Displaying behavior
Similar to that

Of their wild african cousins.

this footage is almost
Like an urban serengeti.

you would think of
A pack of wild dogs

Attacking a wildebeest.

[ dogs barking ]

That's basically what
You're seeing here

With a pack of wild dogs in
The city attacking a car.

Narrator: local records indicate
That this area is a known

Hunting ground for feral dogs.

Hundreds roam, abandoned
By their human masters

And a check of city documents
Reveals savage pack attacks

On residents, including
Young children.

dogs are descended from wolves
And wolves are pack animals.

They work together to hunt.

[ howling ]

Feral dogs may be more
Prone to wolf-like behavior

Because they're not
Being conditioned to live

In a house
And interact with a human

As their primary master
And so it is quite possible

That these dogs have been
Hunting together in a pack.

Narrator: but for some,
Hunting down a car

Doesn't make sense.

They don't eat bumpers,
They don't eat tires.

You have to ask,
Why are they doing this?

♪♪

Narrator: coming up,
A chilling mystery sound

Heard at several locations
Across the world.

This isn't the first time
This is happening.

Narrator:
Red lights from space,

But what are they
Doing on earth?

What strange beast may have
Awakened in the mountains?

Narrator: and car crunching
Crazed canines.

There is one disease that
Makes dogs act viciously

And that's rabies.

♪♪

Narrator: experts are baffled

As dogs in turkey
Rip a family car to pieces

For no apparent reason.

Investigators wonder if
Their conduct is caused

By a deadly disease.

when you look at
The fevered behavior

of these dogs you have
To wonder,

is there something
Wrong with them?

Something like rabies?

Narrator:
Rabies is a killer virus

That attacks
The brain and spinal cord.

It's spread by one infected
Animal biting another.

A rabid dog will roam
Restlessly, turn vicious,

And even bite
And attack random objects.

[ growling ]

Once an animal displays
Symptoms of rabies

Death is near certain.

The same fate awaits any
Human bitten by a rabid animal

And not treated.

[ barking ]

Globally, one person dies
Of rabies every 10 minutes.

The symptoms range from
Paralysis to terror

And hallucinations, leading
To delirium, coma, and death.

But when experts take
A closer look at the footage

They spot a problem
With the rabies theory.

One of the telltale
Signs of the disease

Is frothing at the mouth.

These dogs show no
Evidence of that.

♪♪

The footage comes
To the attention of

Neuroscientist, jayde lovell.

She suspects that
The dogs may be

Deliberately targeting the car.

Alarmingly, she thinks
The vicious onslaught

Is a revenge attack.

you never really
Hear of cases of dogs

destroying property like this.

So I was wondering, maybe
This is related to the case

Where a guy got out of
His car and he kicked a dog

Then he went inside.

And a couple of hours
Later the dog and a bunch

Of its friends came back
And just destroyed that car.

♪♪

Anyone who has a dog
Knows that they have

Pretty decent memories,
So it's no stretch to think

that this pack of dogs,
If they had a run in with a car

where it hit and killed
One of their packmates

That they would
Remember that exact car

And they're having
Their revenge.

Narrator: experts agree,
A revenge attack on the car

Is the most likely explanation
For the animal's behavior.

Cem acar can't
Remember harming a dog

While driving himself,

But the canine carnage
He witnessed on tape

Has forever
Changed the way he feels

about man's best friend.

Now, something sinister
Over the sunshine state.

There was some type
Of energy field.

Like, there was some
Type of presence.

It seriously looks like
The alien mothership

Is about to descend
Through the clouds.

Narrator:
Or is this a secret all powerful

Death ray in action?

If something is eating
A giant chunk out of this cloud

Could that eat a city?

♪♪

Narrator: downey, california.

It's from here that humans
Plan to conquer space.

For three decades tens
Of thousands of engineers

And technicians
Worked here to build

The apollo rocket stages.

As well as designing

And assembling
The space shuttle.

Residents are used to seeing
Earth-built spacecraft

Passing by, but none
Are ready for this.

January 2017,
Local resident, ozzy mercardo

Steps outside his home
And what he sees

Freezes him in his tracks.

there was a giant
Hole in the sky.

Narrator:
Fearful of what my happen next

Mercardo pulls out
His cellphone and records

The unbelievable sight.

I was amazed at what
I was looking at.

It was a perfect hole.

Probably quarter mile
To half a mile wide.

I've never seen
Anything like it before.

Narrator: the giant gaping hole
Hovers ominously,

Directly over the city
Drawing a nervous crowd

And then the strange
Sensation begins.

We all felt like there
Was some type of energy.

It was there, you could feel it,
You could sense it.

We were speculating what it was
And obviously one of 'em is ufo.

♪♪

Narrator:
Residents of the golden state

Report more ufo sightings
Than any other.

Over 16,000 since 2001

And california's home
To one of the most

Deadly sightings of all time.

In 1997, the san diego based
Religious cult, heaven's gate,

Believed an extra terrestrial
Spacecraft appeared

Following the flyby
Of comet hale-bopp.

39 members of the cult
Committed mass suicide

Believing they were
Leaving this world

And reaching a higher
Evolutionary level

By joining the crew
Of the spacecraft.

Science journalist,
Jeff wise considers

If the hole could have
Anything to do with

Nearby classified
Government programs.

One of the reasons
People see so many ufos

In california is that there's
So many military bases

they really are weird things
Happening in the sky

that people can't understand,
'cause it's unexplained,

'cause it's secret.

Narrator: california is home to
32 known military bases.

[ jet engine roaring ]

Eyewitness ozzy mercado
Believes that

Secret military experiments
Could be responsible

For creating
The mysterious sky hole.

I would say manipulation
Of the atmosphere.

It felt more like,
It's not a natural occurrence.

Narrator: it's made by
Something or someone.

♪♪

Narrator: coming up,
Burning fire jets

Erupt over the alpine skies.

The images really have
A lot of the signatures

Of a missile launch.

Narrator: an unearthly sound
Terrifies residents

Of a small town.

If I heard that noise I might
Run in the other direction.

Narrator: and in california,

Eyewitnesses
Fear a government black op

Could be going dangerously wrong
Right above their heads.

To see a giant hole
Open up in the cloud,

That's really weird.

♪♪

Narrator: in downey, california,
Residents fear

A sinister government
Black op is opening up

A hole in the skies.

Eyewitness ozzy mercado's
Footage

Is brought to the attention of

Planetary scientist,
Sian proctor.

Despite 20 years experience
Observing the earth's

Weirdest atmospheric events
This footage astounds her.

it's something that
I've never seen before

and I like weather
And so to see a giant hole

Open up in the cloud,
That's strange,

That's really weird.

Narrator: proctor explores
Mercado's suspicion

That the hole in
The sky might be the result

Of human activity.

She discovers reports that
We've been manipulating

The atmosphere
And the weather for 50 years

Using a method known
As cloud seeding.

The goal is simply to
Get the water vapor

In the atmosphere to
Form water droplets

In order to produce rain.

Narrator:
From the very earliest tests

Cloud seeding
Caused controversy.

It's said that in 1947
Off the u.S. Coast

Military aircraft flew
Along the rain bands

Of a hurricane, dropping
180 pounds of dry ice.

Their goal to reduce
The hurricane's intensity.

But declassified reports
Reveal it ended in disaster.

That hurricane ended
Up turning into land.

Man: the damage to
Property was enormous,

It's estimated at about
50 million dollars.

And ever since then the idea of

Monkeying around
With the atmosphere

Doesn't go over well with
The general population.

Narrator: despite the risks
Cloud seeding projects

Continue to this day.

Records show that in 2016,
Just months before

The hole in the sky
Opens up over downey

The state of california
Undertakes it's own

Cloud seeding project

In a desperate attempt to
End a long running drought.

♪♪

Investigators now
Wonder if this somehow

Punched a hole in
The california sky.

Mother nature is
A very powerful force

and if somebody's messing
With mother nature

and putting holes in clouds

this could be very
Dangerous terrain.

Narrator:
Meteorologist, karen kosiba

Analyses the cellphone footage.

She believes the size of
The hole

Rules out cloud seeding.

Cloud seeding is
Commonly for a big area

in order for cloud
Droplets to grow

to precipitation size.

Whatever disturbing is only

Happening over
A very small area.

Narrator: when jeff wise
Discovers that the footage

Was shot less than 20 miles

From los angeles
International airport

He makes a vital connection.

There is a phenomenon where
Planes passing through clouds

Can make a hole in that cloud.

♪♪

Narrator: sian proctor
Speculates that a plane

Might have interacted
With a special type

Of water in
The upper atmosphere.

Super cooled water below
Freezing, yet still liquid.

The upper atmosphere is cold

And you would expect
Water vapor to actually

Form into droplets of ice.

However, water needs
Something to trigger

The crystallization process.

Narrator: proctor believes

That as it flew
Through the cloud

A plane's exhaust fumes
Acted as a catalyst

Crystallizing super
Cool water into ice.

Those water droplets freeze

And become ice crystals
That fall out of the sky

Leaving this hole.

♪♪

Narrator: but for eyewitness,
Ozzy mercardo

This doesn't explain
The strange energy

He and others felt as
The hole appeared in the sky.

I've showed it to
A lot of people

and nobody can explain
What the video is.

I would think
It's more government-based.

We need more explanation,

But obviously
We're not getting it.

♪♪

Narrator: now...

[ indistinct sound ]

A howling noise terrifies
A small town

In british columbia.

This is not from this world.

If I heard that
Noise I might run

In the other direction.

Narrator:
Some fear an enemy state

Has unleashed a new weapon.

The use of weaponized
Noise would essentially be

A sort of perfect weapon.

♪♪

Narrator: august 29, 2013.

Terrace,
British columbia, canada.

A few hundred miles
From the u.S. Border.

A quiet morning in
This rural area.

But then a monstrous
Noise brings the town

To a standstill.

[ indistinct sound ]

It sounds kind of creepy.

this kind of noise
Isn't the kind of sound

that you're used to hearing.

Narrator:
The sound is deafening

And scientists have
No clue as to who or what

Is making it.

When you hear these
Sounds your reaction is

this is something supernatural.

Narrator:
When the tape is posted online

Reports come in from
Around the world

Of the same menacing sound.

Dallas, texas.

Salzburg, austria.

And kiev in the ukraine.

Military corespondent,
Carolo muñoz

Examines the footage.

He considers if
The sound could possibly be

Some form of sonic attack.

the use of weaponized
Nose would essentially be

a sort of perfect weapon.

It leaves no fingerprints.

You can't tell where
It's coming from

And you can't really
Defend against it.

Narrator: the idea of sonic
Warfare goes back

To the ancient world.

According to the bible,
3,500 years ago,

The israelite army surrounded
The heavily fortified

Canaanite city of jericho

For six days,
Soldiers blew trumpets

Until on the seventh day
The walls came tumbling down.

The israelites
Poured into the city,

Massacring every man,
Woman, and child.

And a recent apparent sonic
Attack on the u.S. Embassy staff

In cuba has alarming
Implications.

It's entirely possible
That u.S. Employees

At the embassy were
The victim of some sort

Of weaponized noise.

Narrator: cuba, a long-term ally
Of the soviet union,

And now putin's russia,
Sits just over a hundred miles

From the florida coast.

Any weapons testing
This close to the u.S.,

Could trigger a new cold war.

♪♪

Coming up, someone or something
Is summoning

The power of the gods.

Seeing these strange
Lights in a remote region

Makes you wonder,
Who's out there,

And what's really going on?

Narrator:
And is this weird sound

A doomsday weapons test?

The question is,
Where is this coming from

And who's carrying it out?

♪♪

Narrator: a series of
Inexplicable howling sounds

Is heard across the planet.

Some fear the beginning
Of a new arms race

In sonic warfare.

the question is,
Where is this coming from

and who's carrying it out?

Narrator: tension between
The u.S. And cuba,

Ratcheted up in 2017
When u.S. Officials

Claimed their diplomats
Were deliberately exposed

To dangerous high
Frequency sounds.

♪♪

The sonic attacks
Caused deafness, nausea,

And memory loss.

The worst affected were
Flown back to the states

Where one consular
Worker is diagnosed

With a traumatic brain injury.

This isn't the first
Time this is happening,

Officials from the united states
And other countries

Have all reported
Similar symptoms.

Narrator: but when science
Journalist jeff wise

Listens to the canadian footage,

He discovers a problem.

the sounds that were
Detected in cuba

Were high-pitched.

[ high-pitched tones ]

But the sound that
We're hearing in canada

It's different, it's low pitch.

♪♪

Narrator:
Acoustic engineer trevor cox

From sulford university
England studies the noise

Forensically analyzing
The audio file,

Cox notices the sounds frequency
Is constantly changing.

He suspects the noise
May be mechanical.

you can hear the frequencies
Coming and going,

Which implies something
Like grinding metal

And what my ears tell me
And my ears are pretty good

At working out what's
Going on, tell me this

Is probably
An industrial process.

Narrator: the regional
Government of british columbia

Tries to calm the panic
By issuing a statement.

The noise, it says,
Is believed to be coming

From an industrial source,
Authorities point

To construction work
On a nearby road

For the deafening sound.

a grating machine drags along
The road and smooths is out,

they claim that they were
Sharpening this blade,

This huge piece of metal.

Narrator: but locals say
This cannot account

For the weird noise.

The townspeople said,
Well, that explains thursday,

But we also heard it on
Wednesday and tuesday,

So they still don't
Know what it is.

Narrator:
And it doesn't explain

The numerous eyewitness
Accounts of the same noise

In different cities worldwide.

What or who is responsible
For this unearthly sound

Remains a mystery.

[ indistinct sound ]

♪♪

Now burning flames erupt
Over the swiss alps.

It's almost like
The sky's on fire itself.

Some fear this means war.

Worst case scenario,
Switzerland is being invaded.

♪♪

Narrator: switzerland,
The alps mountain range,

Thousands of feet
Above sea level

The perfect spot for
Observing the night sky.

October 14, 2016,

Amateur astronomer roger spinner
Sets up his cameras,

He hopes to capture
A spectacular meteor shower.

But as his cameras
Scour the skies

They capture something
Spinner has never seen before.

♪♪

The light is very dark red.

it looks like they are
Coming out from the hill.

I didn't believe it.

Narrator: burning shafts of
Red light shoot hundreds

Of feet into the sky.

♪♪

Military correspondent
Carlo muñoz studies the imagery.

The red color of
The specters makes him believe

It could be some type
Of explosive activity.

the images really have
A lot of the signatures

of a missile launch.

♪♪

Narrator:
Switzerland is famously neutral.

The country has not gone
To war for over 200 years.

But a search of
Military records reveals

The swiss are always
Ready for a fight.

Every fit man in the country
Has military training.

And embedded in
The rocks of the mountains

Is an impregnable fortress.

Swiss have a plan if
They were ever to be invaded,

That's retreat to the alps
And fight a guerrilla war.

All the caves in the swiss alps
Basically double

As military bunkers.

Narrator: the caves house
Artillery and missile bases

And provide vast shelters

For the country's
Eight million civilians.

Enough room to house
The entire population

Of los angeles, twice.

And the caves are booby trapped
With hundreds of pounds

Of explosives so any
Advancing army trying to enter

The cave complex would
Automatically be destroyed.

[ explosions ]

Narrator: witnessing the red
Lights above the mountains,

Muñoz suspects switzerlands
Worst fears are coming true.

And the shooting red light
Is anti-aircraft missiles

And artillery shells
Giving cover to the swiss

As they retreat
Into their caves.

Worst case scenario,
Switzerland's being invaded.

And what we're seeing here
Is a massive

Ground base defense
Against them.

♪♪

Narrator: do burning jets of
Fire in the night sky

Above switzerland signify
A massive military assault?

♪♪

When ex-nypd video
Analyst conor mccourt

Examines the videos data stream

He discovers that
The footage does not give

An accurate portrayal
Of how these lights

Originally appeared in the sky.

the timestamp on the bottom
Shows us we're shooting

at 30 images per second.

these flashes at
Their beginning to their end

One, two, three, four images

Which indicates
4/30ths of a second,

Very short amount of time.

Narrator: in real time,
The red specters appear

And disappear extremely quickly.

Mccourt believes this short
Lifespan is too fast

For it to be anti-aircraft fire.

It's a burst of light,
And then it's over.

♪♪

Narrator: david wallace at
The high voltage laboratory

In mississippi state university
Analyzes the footage,

He considers how
The flashes last

For less than a blink of an eye.

It makes him suspect this
Could be some strange spark

Of electricity.

it's a very fast
Millisecond type image,

They're very bright, very jagged

And this sort of tends
To lead me to think

Of something else that's
Like this, a lightning bolt.

[ thunder crashes ]

Narrator:
But if it is lightning,

Wallace is puzzled
By it's color.

Why is it red, this is not
Typically what you'd see

In a lightning strike.

Narrator:
Considering what could turn

A lightning bolt red,
Wallace examines another

Sky-based phenomenon for clues.

He knows the aurora borealis
Gets it's varied colors

Because of different
Gases in the atmosphere.

Different gases,
Based on electrical charge

Will glow in a different color,

So dependent on
What the composition of

The atmosphere is at that point

You'll get
The different color charges,

Like you see in this video.

Narrator: wallace wants to
Discover if lightning bolts

Can change color
If they come into contact

With different gases
In the atmosphere.

He first fills
A chamber with normal air,

Then fires 60,000 volts into it.

[ electricity crackles ]

So much energy, it rips
Apart the atoms of air

Creating a plasma channel,

Lightning in a jar.

This is a typical lightning
Strike which you would expect

To see in nature,
It's a bright, white of center

With a nice purplish hue overall

On the outside of the stripe.

Narrator: now he wants to know
If the gas helium

Will affect
The color of the bolt.

He charges
The lightning generator.

♪♪

Red 18, we're getting ready
To go hot, here we go.

[ electricity crackles ]

Wow, I mean, this is
A little bit different.

With the helium introduced
Into my discharge chamber,

Instead of having
That bluish white,

Now we have a more violet color.

Narrator: wallace's experiment
May not have created

Red lightning but
The change in the bolt color

Convinces him that
He's on the right track.

[ electricity crackles ]

Conor mccourt searches
Online records

For any evidence
Of red lightning.

And discovers a new lead.

Astronauts on board
The international space station

Have captured images
Of mysterious red lights

Or sprites.

It corresponds to
What I'm seeing here.

These are red light sprites
Coming from a storm.

Narrator: red sprites are
An extremely rare form

Of extraterrestrial lightning.

It has been seen
50 miles above the planet.

A single bolt packs over one
Billion volts of electricity.

At these altitudes the high
Levels of the gas nitrogen

Turns the bolt red.

The image looks like
The swiss footage

But david wallace spots
One major difference.

How can you have a sprite
That is typically miles up

In the atmosphere appear to be
This close to the ground?

Narrator: mccourt returns to
The original swiss footage.

Forensically analyzing
The landscape,

He spots an important detail --

Clouds in the foreground.

Mccourt: that would indicate
That this light

Is behind the clouds
So that this light

Is very much in the distance.

Narrator: mccourt suspects if
The storm creating

The red sprites is
Far enough away,

The curvature of
The earth will make

The high altitude flashes
Appear much closer

To the ground
Than they really are.

And a check of weather
Records reveals

Supporting evidence.

While there is no thunder
Storm to create the sprites

In switzerland that day,

There is a storm 300 miles
To the south in france.

It's all a matter
Of perspective.

You have a camera
That's looking out

Over a mountain range

Giving the appearance that
The sprites are actually coming

From the ground.

in reality, they're miles
Up in the atmosphere.

[ thunder crashes ]

narrator: amateur astronomer
Roger spinner

is lucky enough to
Have caught on camera

one of the rarest types of
Lightning known to science.

it's a moment that will
Live with him forever.

astronomy is my passion
Since I'm a little boy.

luck plays an important role,

it's the right place
At the right time.

[ thunder rumbling ]