This image of the balloon was taken in the air over the town of Billings, Montana, on Wednesday (February 1).
Photo: picture alliance/dpa/The Billings Gazette/AP | Larry Mayer
From the BZ editorial team
The US shot down the Chinese spy balloon off the east coast. The debris is said to have fallen into the Atlantic.
The white balloon, said to carry solar panels and spy devices, was spotted in the Northwest of the United States on Wednesday. “The intent of this balloon is clearly to gather intelligence,” said a senior US defense official.
The China spy has now become a top priority. US President Joe Biden: “We’ll take care of it,” he said Saturday on the sidelines of a private appointment in Syracuse, New York, according to reporters traveling with him.
Several questions had been shouted at him – including whether they wanted to shoot down the spy balloon.
Three airports closed because of the balloon
The authorities had temporarily closed three airports in the east of the country. “In order to support the Department of Defense in a national security measure,” the arrivals and departures at three airports in the states of South and North Carolina were interrupted, the aviation authority said.
The US Department of Defense announced the sighting of the Chinese balloon on Thursday evening. The balloon was sighted over the US state of Montana, Central America and also Missouri. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the intrusion of the “surveillance balloon” into US airspace “unacceptable” and “irresponsible”.
China firmly rejected the allegations of espionage on Saturday, speaking of a research balloon that was thrown off course by “force majeure”. Blinken canceled a visit to Beijing expected for Sunday.