'Alien Fleet' over Christchurch in New Zealand [VIDEO]

Is the video below a sighting of an alien fleet invasion fleet hovering above a capital city like in Hollywood film, Independence Day?

Or is there a more earthly explanation for the 12 lights spotted in the skies above Christchurch in New Zealand, last weekend?

Twelve glowing lights appeared in the night sky and sparked panic among a group of earthling friends on the ground.

The spotters who witnessed the "strange" events on Sunday firmly believe the incident defies normal explanation.

Christchurch man Nathan Hanna insisted: "I can't say what the UFOs were, but can safely say they weren't lanterns."

Another eyewitness, who wants to remain anonymous, was equally baffled by what she saw.

She said the sight made her step out of her car and stand on the road, gazing upward as she caught it on tape.

She said: "We turned the car engine off and stood on the road looking at them and there was no sound at all of aeroplane engines, they moved slowly, steadily and silently.

"One of the lights trailed behind the rest and moved rapidly faster than the others horizontally in an easterly direction."

"As they passed overhead their orange glow slowly dimmed and they went to a grey colour and could be seen to be circular in shape.

"There were no flashing wing tip lights to indicate an incoming aircraft or no flashing lights at all on the object."

From such descriptions it is possible to begin to build an hypothesis of what the mystery objects may have been...

Unfortunately for the amateur ufologists, the possibility that the 12 lights in the sky were alien spacecrafts piloted by little green creatures took another blow.

On the precise evening that they appeared in the sky above Christchurch, a collection of sky lanterns were released into the sky in aid of a cancer patient by family and wellwishers.