Colombia: Chinese Spy Balloon-Like Object Spotted in Colombia's Airspace 

Authorities in Colombia verified the sighting of a balloon-like object over its territory the day before a U.S. military plane shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon.

Colombia's air defense system picked up a suspected balloon on Friday morning, the air force stated in a brief statement released on Saturday, Reuters reports.

According to a statement, an "object" was spotted flying at 55,000 feet over Colombia airspace from the north at 25 knots (around 29 mph).

According to the statement, the air force tracked the object until it departed Colombia airspace and found that it had "characteristics comparable to those of a balloon."

"It was determined that it did not represent a threat to national security," the statement added.

Pentagon Says a Chinese Spy Balloon Is Flying Over Latin America

The Pentagon announced late Friday that it had seen a second Chinese surveillance balloon in Latin America, barely hours after disclosing that a similar balloon was traveling across the United States continental territory.

The Defense Department is aware of reports of another balloon transiting Latin America, according to Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder, per NBC News.

"We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon," he said without providing more details about the alleged Chinese spy ballon's location.

Earlier on Friday, the Pentagon said it would not try to remove the balloon in U.S. airspace because "any potential debris field would be significant" and could cause "civilian injuries or deaths or significant property damage." Still, it did not respond to the slow-moving violation of "U.S. airspace and international law."

Americans in the middle of the country are now watching the sky, looking for the balloon that has sparked domestic curiosity, political finger-pointing, and an international diplomatic crisis.

U.S. Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon

The United States claims to have shot down a massive Chinese spy balloon eavesdropping on American military sites.

The Department of Defense has verified that U.S. fighter planes shot down the balloon in international waters.

U.S. attacks on civilian unmanned aircraft prompted "strong dissatisfaction and protest against the U.S.'s use of force to attack civilian unmanned aircraft" from China's foreign ministry, according to BBC.

Footage broadcast on U.S. television showed the Chinese spy balloon exploding and plunging into the ocean.

A defense official informed reporters that at 14:39 EST (19:39 GMT), an F-22 jet fighter fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the high-altitude balloon, bringing it down roughly six nautical miles off the U.S. coast.

The debris landed in water only 47 feet deep, according to U.S. defense sources quoted by local media outlets, which was significantly shallower than they had anticipated. The area is close to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Military personnel is currently scouring a 7-mile radius for scattered wreckage (11km). Two naval vessels are nearby, one of which is equipped with a large rescue crane.

"While we took all necessary steps to protect against the PRC [China] surveillance balloon's collection of sensitive information, the surveillance balloon's overflight of U.S. territory was of intelligence value to us," a senior U.S. defense official said a statement released by the Pentagon.

"We were able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable," the official added.

Since defense authorities initially said they were tracking it on Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden had been pressured to shoot it down.

After the occurrence, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said, "They successfully took it down, and I want to complement our aviators who did it."

Meanwhile, Colombia authorities have not mentioned China or any other nations as the likely source of the balloon.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: 2nd Chinese balloon spotted over Latin America as debate continues over U.S. response - From ABC7