Did you hear about the two-meters-tall, flying aliens spotted in Alto Nanay, Peru last month? Well, according to authorities, it seems to have been a hoax. In fact, those “aliens” are now thought to be illegal gold miners using jetpacks. Was this on our 2023 bingo card? Not exactly.

As per VICE, the Indigenous Ikitu community from Alto Nanay, a district in Peru’s Maynas Province, first reported the alien sightings on July 11.

According to Peruvian broadcasting company RPP, the Ikitu people said they saw “strange beings” that attacked them at night.

They told RPP at the time that these beings were “two meters tall,” and “disappeared” into thin air when the group confronted them. The group also alleged that the “aliens” were “immune” to weapons.

The community’s leader Jairo Reátegui Ávila explained to the outlet, “These men are aliens. They seem armored like the Green Goblin in ‘Spiderman.'”

“I have shot them twice and they don’t fall, instead, they rise up and disappear,” he explained. “We are terrified by what’s happening in our community.” You can see the conversation here:

While group members pleaded for Peruvian authorities to intervene, it seems like further investigations might have just debunked the myth. But what a myth it was.

The Ikitu community reported the aliens, saying they attacked a young girl

According to the Ikitu members’ interview with RPP, the alleged “aliens” attacked a young girl in their group and left cuts on her neck.

The community’s leader explained to the outlet, “Their color is silver, their shoes are round, and they fly up with them.”

“They float at around a meter high and they have a red light at their heels,” he described. “Their heads are long, their masks are long and their eyes are kind of yellow.”

“They are experts in escaping.”

As you can imagine, videos of these alien sightings went viral. Even moreso after last month’s United States House hearing where veterans said “non-human” biologics were recovered from UFO crashes.

Here’s a video of the Ikitu community’s own alien sightings, which they referred to as “pelacaras,” or face-peelers. And yes, we would be as freaked out as that dog barking in the background:

@nautatelevision

sigue la tensión por los pelacaras o llamados extraterrestres 👽 en Nauta #parati #nauta #peru #iquitos #Nauta #by

♬ sonido original – Nauta Televisión

As you can expect, the community rallied together to protect themselves from these invaders — whether they were human or not. For that reason, leaders requested government officials intercede.

Now, authorities report the eerie sightings were actually miners on jetpacks

The Peruvian government’s prosecutor assigned to the case, Carlos Castro Quintanilla, spoke out about the reality of the sightings.

The investigator told RPP that “alien” sightings were probably “mafias” of Brazilian or Colombian gold miners. In fact, he said these people dedicate themselves to illegal gold mining close to the Alto Nanay district.

Quintanilla said it was “highly probable” that these are miners are responsible for these “attacks” on the Ikitu.

He also said the miners’ strategy was to “generate fear” in the community so they wouldn’t leave their homes. They also are known to use highly-advanced technology.