Colombian authorities said today that a balloon of unknown origin had flown over their territory after US authorities were alerted on Friday about a "Chinese surveillance balloon" spotted over Latin America.
The Colombian Air Force said the balloon was discovered Friday morning and monitored until it left the country's airspace.
It is added that the balloon did not "endanger" the security and defense of the country.
"On February 3, the National Air Defense System detected an object at an altitude above 55.000 feet (16.700 meters), which entered Colombian airspace through the northern sector of the country, moving at an average speed of 25 knots (46 kilometers per hour) and had balloon characteristics," the military said.
The Colombian Air Force added that it was conducting "checks with various countries and institutions to determine the origin of the object."
The Pentagon said on Friday that a second Chinese surveillance balloon had been spotted flying over Latin America, a day after a similar balloon was found over the US.
At the time, no details were given about the location and trajectory of the second balloon.
On Saturday, the US military shot down a Chinese balloon flying over the US on the orders of President Joseph Biden, prompting sharp criticism from Beijing and hints that it would retaliate.
American authorities believe it was a Chinese spy balloon, while Chinese authorities said it was a meteorological balloon that had deviated from its path.
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