US downs Chinese balloon over ocean and moves to recover debris

The balloon had been flying at about 60,000 feet and was estimated to be about the size of three school buses. (Larry Mayer/The Billings Gazette via AP)

The United States has downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America and became the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.

An operation was under way in US territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean to recover debris from the balloon, which had been flying at about 60,000 feet and was estimated to be about the size of three school buses.