April Fool's Day UFOs report sparks mass panic
Newspaper said 10ft-tall aliens had landed - almost leading to emergency evacuation
Amman: A Jordanian newspaper's April Fool's Day report chronicling a late-night visit by 10-foot-tall aliens in flying saucers sparked public panic and almost led to the town's emergency evacuation, officials said on Monday.
The Al Ghad newspaper published a front page article on April 1 about the fake UFO landing near the desert town of Jafr, some 300 kilometres from Amman. The report said the UFOs lit up the whole town, interrupted communications and sent fearful residents streaming onto the streets.
Jafr's mayor, Mohammad Mleihan, got caught up in the prank and said he sent security authorities in search of the aliens. "Students didn't go to school, their parents were frightened and I almost evacuated the town's 13,000 residents," Mleihan said. "People were scared that aliens would attack them."
A Jordanian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an emergency plan was almost enacted in Jafr. Mleihan said he may sue the daily for its "big lie," but added the paper had called to apologise for the inconvenience caused by the joke.
Al Ghad's managing editor, Mousa Barhoumeh, tried to defuse the situation, saying the report had been "blown out of proportion."
