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

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

Asked about the balloon earlier on Saturday, President Joe Biden had told reporters, "we're going to take care of it". The Federal Aviation Administration and Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.

Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the balloon descending toward the water. US military jets were seen flying in the vicinity and ships were deployed in the water to mount the recovery operation.

Georgetown resident Joey Lopes told CNN he was visiting Myrtle Beach for the day when he heard a loud bang in the sky. He recorded video footage of the balloon moments after it started to fall from the sky.

Officials were aiming to time the operation so they could recover as much of the debris as possible before it sinks into the ocean. The Pentagon had previously estimated that any debris field would be substantial.

In preparation for the operation, the FAA Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coastline, including the airports in Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina.

The Coast Guard advised mariners to immediately leave the area because of US military operations "that present a significant hazard".

Biden had been inclined to down the balloon over land when he was first briefed on it on Tuesday, but Pentagon officials advised against it, warning that the potential risk to people on the ground outweighed the assessment of potential Chinese intelligence gains.

The controversy erupted Thursday, when American officials said they were tracking a large Chinese "surveillance balloon" in US skies, but decided not to shoot it down over concerns of hurting people or property on the ground.

That led Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday to scrap a rare trip to Beijing.

After initial hesitation, Beijing admitted ownership of the "airship," but said it was a weather balloon that had been blown off course, adding that it regretted the situation.

"The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes," China's foreign ministry said in a statement Friday.

"The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure," it said, using the legal term for an act outside of human control.

The balloon had flown over parts of the northwestern United States that are home to sensitive airbases and strategic nuclear missiles in underground silos, adding to concerns.

Another suspected Chinese spy balloon was seen over Latin America, the Pentagon said Friday, without providing specifics as to its location.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP)

Originally published on France24