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Object with balloon ‘characteristics’ flew over Colombia, air force confirms

Click to play video: 'What’s next after U.S. shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon?'
What’s next after U.S. shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon?
The U.S. military has shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina and recovery is now underway. An investigation will soon begin into its mission. Washington says it was sent to monitor strategic sites in the continental United States and is a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty. Meanwhile, China is still insisting the object is a weather balloon that was blown off course. Jennifer Johnson has more on what's next as tensions between the two countries continue to rise – Feb 4, 2023

An object with “characteristics similar” to a balloon entered Colombian airspace on Friday, according to the country’s air force command.

“On Feb. 3, 2023 in the morning, the National Air Defense System detected an object over 55,000 ft., which entered Colombian airspace in the northern sector of the country,” a press release from the air force said Saturday in Spanish.

The report comes the same day as the United States military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast on orders from President Joe Biden after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America.

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In a statement Saturday, Canada’s Minister of Federal Defence Minister Anita Anand says the nation “unequivocally supports” the United States government’s decision to shoot down the balloon, noting it violated Canadian airspace.

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In Colombia, the air force tracked the suspected balloon until it left the airspace.

Click to play video: 'Why is China using a spy balloon in the age of advanced technology?'
Why is China using a spy balloon in the age of advanced technology?

“It was determined that this element did not represent a threat to national security and defence, as well as to aviation safety,” Colombia’s air force said in the release in Spanish.

“The Institution carries out the pertinent investigations and coordination with different countries and institutions, to establish the origin of the object.”

– With files from The Associated Press

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