Suspected Chinese spy balloon was 200ft tall - US defence official

A suspected Chinese surveillance balloon changeable down disconnected the US seashore was astir 200 ft (60m) gangly and carrying an airliner-sized load, US officials say.

At a briefing connected Monday, a defence authoritative said the size and make-up of the entity informed the determination not to sprout it down portion it was implicit land.

"Picture ample debris weighing hundreds if not thousands of pounds falling retired of the sky," Gen Glen VanHerck said.

The US is inactive moving to retrieve debris disconnected the seashore of South Carolina.

Remnants of the entity - which the US believes is simply a spy balloon but China says is simply a upwind monitoring vessel blown astray - person been collected from a astir 1,500m (4,920 ft) by 1,500m sized area, but it is thought debris is dispersed implicit a acold larger site.

Multiple combatant jets were progressive successful the cognition to sprout it down, but lone 1 US Air Force F-22 took the changeable astatine 14:39 section clip (19:39 GMT) connected Saturday. It sent debris hurtling down astir six nautical miles disconnected the US coast.

"They person recovered immoderate remnants disconnected the aboveground of the oversea and upwind conditions did not licence overmuch undersea surveillance of the debris field," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said connected Monday.

He said US unit would "in the coming days beryllium capable to get down determination and instrumentality a amended look astatine what's connected the bottommost of the ocean, but it's conscionable started".

There is nary program to springiness the remnants backmost to China, officials said, adding that the retrieved debris would beryllium analysed by quality experts.

A fig of specializer ships person been deployed to the area, including an oceanographic survey vessel that uses sonar and different means to representation retired a debris field, Gen VanHerck, who commands some the US military's Northern Command and associated US-Canadian North American Aerospace Command, oregon Norad, said.

He added that portion the balloon was respective 100 feet tall, the payload - the information which would person carried instrumentality - was astir the aforesaid size arsenic a determination airliner.

Gen VanHerck said the US was inactive moving to find whether the debris includes perchance unsafe materials, specified arsenic explosives oregon artillery components.

The determination to sprout down the balloon triggered a diplomatic spat betwixt the US and China, and prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a scheduled travel to Beijing that had been aimed astatine easing tensions.

On Monday, China accused the US of utilizing "indiscriminate force" erstwhile it downed the balloon. It said it "obviously overreacted and earnestly violated the tone of planetary law".

The US believes the balloon was being utilized to show delicate subject sites.

Adm Mike Mullen, erstwhile seat of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, rejected China's proposition it mightiness person blown disconnected course, saying it was manoeuvrable due to the fact that "it has propellers connected it".

"This was not an accident. This was deliberate. It was intelligence," helium added.