US shoots down alleged Chinese spy balloon

The United States shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon on Saturday (4) off the coast of North and South Carolina. In recent days, the equipment has been traversing sensitive military sites across North America.

An operation was underway to recover the wreckage of the balloon, which was flying at around 60,000 feet and estimated to be the size of three school buses.

Images broadcast on television showed a small explosion, followed by the balloon falling towards the water. US military jets were seen flying nearby and ships were positioned in the water to mount the recovery operation.

Earlier, President Joe Biden told reporters the country would “take care of it” when asked about the balloon.

China denies the spying and says the artifact had “civilian” meteorological purposes and had deviated from its course “due to the influence of the west winds and its restricted control capacity”.

US officials say there is a second China ‘spy’ balloon flying over Latin America.