Where did the debris from Chinese balloon that US military shot down land? Was anyone hurt?
The US military finally shot down the Chinese spy balloon that has been floating over the US for this week. An operation is underway to recover the debris.
President Biden said on Saturday that “we’re going to take care of it,” when asked by reporters about the Chinese spy balloon that has been traversing US airspace this week. Later the same day the US military carried out an operation to shoot down the object the size of two to three buses off the coast of Carolina.
On Saturday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for parts of North Carolina and South Carolina to clear the airspace in the area. At the same time the Coast Guard worked to clear the water below. A mission is currently underway to recover the debris before it sinks to the bottom of the ocean.
Was anyone hurt by falling debris from the Chinese balloon?
Video was recorded of the moment the operation took place, a small explosion can be seen followed by the balloon deflating and falling along with the large substructure. There are no reports of anyone being injured by the falling debris.
President Biden spoke to the press after the mission was carried out explained that he had given the order on Wednesday to shoot down what the Chinese had claimed was a civilian research balloon. While the order was given to bring down the balloon “as soon as possible” it was to be done so “without doing damage to anyone on the ground.
The military officials at the Pentagon decided that the best time to proceed would be when the object was over water within the 12-mile limit of US territorial waters. “They successfully took it down and I want to congratulate our aviators who did it,” Biden said. The President will have more to report on the matter “a little later.”
This story will be updated as more news comes in.