Washington: The United States today shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the country’s east coast. Earlier this week, the US claimed that Balloon was spying on sensitive military sites in North America.
The aviation administration temporarily closed three southeastern airports during the day amid what it called a “national security effort”.
Footage from local media showed a small explosion, after which the balloon fell into the water. Ships were deployed to remove as much debris as possible.
Hours before the balloon was dropped, US President Joe Biden vowed to look into the balloon’s case. “We’re going to take that into account,” Biden told reporters when asked by reporters to comment on relations with China and the balloon incident.
The balloon was initially spotted entering US airspace on January 28. The white orb rested on Montana, the site of the intercontinental-ballistic-missile silo, which reached the country’s North Carolina on Saturday.