CRIME
U.S. Navy Continues Recovery Process Of High Altitude Surveillance Balloon
Photos released Wednesday by the U.S. Navy show the ongoing recovery of parts of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., after it was shot down on Feb. 4.
The photos show sailors assigned to Assault Craft Unit Four using landing craft air cushions to retrieve debris from the surveillance balloon on Wednesday. The balloon was shot down over U.S. waters on Feb. 4, after being tracked across the continent.
Divers were working to locate parts of the balloons sunken payload, estimated to be about the size of three buses.
The Navy said personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration, and Federal Bureau of Investigation were involved in the recovery efforts.
The suspected spy balloon was seen over Billings, Mont., on Feb. 1, prompting a statement from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the U.S. Northern Command the next day.
NORAD Commander Gen. Glen VanHerck said the high-altitude surveillance balloon was traveling “well above commercial air traffic” and did not pose a military or physical threat to people on the ground.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday said the balloon was a civilian airship used for weather research, and that it had blown off course. Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China “regrets” the balloons entry into U.S. airspace due to westerly winds and “limited self-steering capability.”
