‘Flying Aliens’ Harassing Village in Peru Are Actually Illegal Miners With Jetpacks, Cops Say

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkazgy/peru-aliens-illegal-miners-with-jetpacks

203 points · 33 comments · view on lemmy.world

33 Comments

distantsounds@lemmy.world · 42 pts · 3y (7 replies)

Aliens sounds more believable than that

kamiheku@sopuli.xyz · 18 pts · 3y

Miners with jetpacks sounds like something straight out of a Commodore 64 game

Demigod787@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 3y (3 replies)

I was thinking the same thing. Even in Dubai they barely use them and now you're telling me it's a common commodity for illegal miners in Peru. Ya right.

livus@kbin.social · 12 pts · 3y

The miners are not Peruvian nationals. It takes a lot of capital to sneak into the Peruvian jungle and start mining.

I'm a bit dubious about the jetpacks but the rest - that miners are trying to scare Indigenous locals - is legit, and it's far from the first time this has happened.

Annoyed_Crabby@monyet.cc · 3 pts · 2y

Obviously they doesn't want sand to get everywhere in Dubai.

TheSmartDude@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y

I've never even seen one in practical use in Dubai. The most I've seen are prototypes of lab designs.

Aux@lemmy.world · -8 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Commercial jetpacks are available for some time now, there are even jetpack attractions.

HWK_290@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 3y

You keep saying that like you expect us to believe you...

Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world · 41 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Hope they crash and get nursed back to health by the indigenous people, undergo a spiritual awakening, and lead a violent uprising against the mining company.

Fapper_McFapper@lemmynsfw.com · 5 pts · 2y (1 reply)

I think this could make a great movie!

Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 2y

We could call it Fern Gully: Origins and make it a realistic CGI with expressionless talking animals (and whoever is doing the work of Robin Williams and Tim Curry these days but worse).

br3w0r@sh.itjust.works · 37 pts · 3y (4 replies)

Oh, it's just miners with jetpacks... Wait, wtf?!

Aux@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 3y (3 replies)

Commercial jetpacks are available for some time now, there are even jetpack attractions.

redcalcium@lemmy.institute · 4 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Miners are the last people in my mind that would use jetpacks. I mean, they're usually deep underground, right?

Snorf@reddthat.com · 5 pts · 2y

Not when they're harassing villagers obviously

Shanedino@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y

I feel like underground mines are more and more a thing of thr past, I have seen many an operating surface mine but only old mines that were converted to attractions.

Kolanaki@yiffit.net · 24 pts · 3y (3 replies)

Not quite as fantastical as aliens, but miners with jetpacks sounds sci-fi as fuck.

HWK_290@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Miners not minors!

(speaking of scifi...)

Mr_TheMoviePhone@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y

Great movie and a fantastic reference

Aux@lemmy.world · -6 pts · 3y

Commercial jetpacks are available for some time now, there are even jetpack attractions.

DaleGribble88@programming.dev · 13 pts · 2y

I wish I was a flying miner pretending to be an alien so that I could harass villagers in Peru. That would be so awesome.

Caketaco@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 11 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Rock and Stone!

ezures@lemmy.wtf · 3 pts · 3y

RnD really outdid themselves with the new rocket boots.

schroedingershat@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 3y

Hypothesis: Attacks were just regular miners without jetpacks, but the villagers knew the cops wouldn't do shit about them getting attacked or kidnapped.

A bunch of rich white UFO-seekers livestreaming via satellite uplink and getting footage of it on the other hand would be far too hot for the police to bury. Plus some bonus tourist income.

Especially_the_lies@startrek.website · 9 pts · 3y (2 replies)

It's never aliens, unfortunately.

5BC2E7@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 3y

Aliens make more sense than ilegal miners flying in jetpacks.

FlyingSquid@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 3y

I'm doubting either explanation in this case.

bundes_sheep@lemmy.one · 8 pts · 2y (1 reply)

For the jetpack doubters (I was one too), someone posted this link on slashdot. Scroll down a bit and you'll see a picture of a girl who snapped a picture on her phone of what is very clearly a guy in a jetpack of some kind. The theory is the miners use them to scout new locations to see if enough minerals are present to clear a road to them.

ThankYouVeryMuch@kbin.social · 1 pts · 2y
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echodot@feddit.uk · 8 pts · 2y

I think this might be the first time that the official explanation is less believable than the conspiracy.

BarbecueCowboy@kbin.social · 6 pts · 2y

The cops were watching Scooby Doo, and were like "Yes, lets go with that".

phillycodehound@geddit.social · 4 pts · 2y

I thought Vice.com went under.

JeffCraig@citizensgaming.com · 3 pts · 3y (1 reply)

What a genius getaway vehicle.

IndiBrony@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y

CJ agrees.