Crop circles mystify Russian farmers
The overnight appearance of crop circles in a field in southern Russia has puzzled farmers, with witnesses saying aliens landed there.
Closer examination revealed four distinct circles - one 20 metres in diameter in the centre and three outer ones 5-7m in diameter each.
Representatives of the Stavropol security council arrived on the scene and suppressed all reports of what happened.
They found no traces of radiation or chemicals, and human intervention was ruled out.
Officials found eyewitnesses in a neighbouring village who said they had seen a UFO landing in the field.
Vasily Belchenko, security council deputy secretary, was inclined to believe them.
There is no doubt that it was not man-made
"An unknown object definitely landed there.
"Eyewitnesses say that the landing was very quick and the take-off was immediate," he added.
A 20-cm-deep cylindrical hole with polished walls was found right in the centre of the large circle.
clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk 