The United States shot down the Chinese balloon that was flying over their territory.
The device, which the Pentagon claims is a "
spy
" balloon, was observed over North Carolina on the east coast of the United States on Saturday.
On a live video stream, we see the explosion of the balloon, the dive of its nacelle, then the passage of an American combat plane.
Beijing had previously recognized that it was indeed a device from China, while ensuring that it was only a “
civil aircraft, used for research purposes, mainly meteorological
”.
It had so far been decided not to shoot it down, because of the risks posed by possible debris for people on the ground, explained a senior Pentagon official.
More information to come.