Suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts into Atlantic ocean after being shot down

Eyes were locked on the skies Saturday as a suspected Chinese spy balloon passed over the U.S. Eastern Seaboard— where local authorities warned civilians against taking potshots with rifles— before it was shot down when it drifted over the Atlantic Ocean. The maneuverable balloon entered U.S. airspace over Alaska early this week and it wasn “t acknowledged by…

WASHINGTON-(MaraviPost)-The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, February 4, 2023.

Eyes were locked on the skies Saturday as a suspected Chinese spy balloon passed over the U.S. Eastern Seaboard — where local authorities warned civilians against taking potshots with rifles — before it was shot down when it drifted over the Atlantic Ocean.

Software engineer and storm chaser Brian Branch captured photographs of the balloon high above western North Carolina just hours before it was shot down.

He could see a payload hanging from the round, white balloon, which officials have said was about the size of three school buses.

It was shot down off the Carolina coast Saturday afternoon and an operation was launched to recover the debris. The Biden administration had previously hesitated to shoot the balloon because of risks to people on the ground from falling debris.

“I’m kind of surprised they didn’t shoot it down over Montana,” Branch said.

There had been reports of sightings throughout upstate South Carolina, including Greenville and Spartanburg, and suburban Charlotte in North Carolina.

The maneuverable balloon entered U.S. airspace over Alaska early this week and it wasn’t acknowledged by government officials until Thursday, a day after commercial flights were temporarily halted at the airport in Billings, Montana and people on the ground saw the balloon seemingly loitering high above the city.

China said it was a weather research vessel blown off course, a claim rejected by U.S. officials who said the craft had been over areas of Montana where nuclear missiles are siloed.

China’s Ministry of National Defense on Sunday called the U.S. “overreacting” after a U.S. fighter jet shot down a Chinese unmanned airship that China said unintendedly entered the U.S. airspace days ago.

“We express our solemn protest against this U.S. approach and reserve the right to use the necessary means to deal with similar situations,” said Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense on Sunday.

The Chinese government said the civilian airship was used for research, mainly meteorological purposes and was deviated far from its planned course, affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability.