Debris from the downed Chinese balloon is recovered on a US Navy ship (Picture: AP)
The US military has finished recovering debris from the Chinese balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina last week.
‘US Navy assets assigned to US Northern Command successfully located and retrieved debris from the high-altitude PRC surveillance balloon shot down Feb 4, 2023,’ the command post said in a press release.
‘Final pieces of debris are being transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory in Virginia for counterintelligence exploitation, as has occurred with previous surface and subsurface debris recovered.’
The military also lifted maritime and airspace restrictions over the balloon’s crash site off the coast of South Carolina.
US Navy divers search the Atlantic Ocean for balloon debris (Picture: REUTERS)
Earlier this week, the military confirmed it recovered sensors and electronics from the balloon’s payload. An official later told Nikkei Asia that the Department of Commerce would examine the recovered debris for US-manufactured parts.
In the days following the tense aerial takedown, the US shot down three more UFOs above Alaska, the Yukon Territory in Canada, and Lake Huron.
At a press conference yesterday, President Joe Biden said that these objects were not linked to the Chinese balloon program and were likely from ‘private companies, recreation, or research institutions, studying weather or conducting other scientific research.’
The reason they were detected was the increased scrutiny of US airspace after the first balloon was detected.
Recovered balloon debris is prepared for analysis at an FBI laboratory (Picture: AP)
The US and Canadian militaries are currently trying to recover debris from these UFOs as well, but each were shot down over remote areas. The search for one of these objects has already been called off – the one detected over the Great Lakes.
After yesterday’s press conference, a hobbyist group called the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade said that one of the UFOs may have been their balloon.
According to the group, they lost contact with their balloon – named K9YO – off the coast of Alaska around the same time fighter jets shot down the UFO.
But instead of carrying sophisticated surveillance technology, K9YO cost about $10 – $15.
According to a blog post from the organization on Friday, they will not be able to confirm it was their balloon until debris is recovered. K9YO was close to completing its seventh circumnavigation of the globe when it went missing.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
The military also lifted maritime and airspace restrictions over the balloon’s crash site off the coast of South Carolina.
