The Pentagon has released photographs showing the US Navy recovering the wreckage of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina. The operation, which involved an amphibious warship, divers, and underwater robots, has taken several days to survey a designated square mile of ocean where the debris was believed to have fallen.
The images, published on Tuesday, depict sailors from the Navy's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 pulling remnants of the high-altitude surveillance balloon from the water near Myrtle Beach. The balloon was shot down on Saturday on the orders of President Joe Biden, after it was tracked flying over the continental United States at an altitude far above commercial airliners.
China has insisted the craft was deployed for meteorological purposes and has strongly condemned its destruction. The incident has further strained relations between Beijing and Washington, with US officials monitoring for potential retaliation, including strikes on American assets.
Defence officials have also confirmed that another suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted over Latin America near Cartagena, Colombia, and is under investigation. Additionally, it was revealed that several similar balloons were sighted during the Trump presidency but were not publicly acknowledged to maintain diplomatic relations.
