OTTAWA – Defence Minister Anita Anand said it was too early to tell whether a \u201ccylindrical object\u201d shot down over central Yukon on Saturday was from China, even as she hinted about it being another Chinese spy balloon<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The comments came during a hastily arranged news conference, as Canadian Armed Forces personnel worked to recover wreckage of the object after it was destroyed by an American fighter jet hours earlier<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom all indications, this object is potentially similar to the one that was shot down off the coast of North Carolina, though smaller in size and cylindrical in nature,\u201d Anand said in reference to the Chinese spy balloon destroyed on Feb. 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat is the information that we are working with right now. But with further analysis, we will know more and be able to provide you with more details and a followup\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre referred to the object as a \u201cballoon\u201d during the same news conference<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The object was first detected over Alaska late Friday evening, according to the Pentagon, at which point two U.S. F-22 fighter jets were scrambled to intercept, identify and track it. That monitoring continued as it crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The North American Aerospace Defence Command publicly revealed its presence over northern Canada on Saturday afternoon. A short time later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Twitter that he had ordered it taken down<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace,\u201d he wrote. \u201c(Norad) shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trudeau added that he had been in touch with U.S. President Joe Biden, and the Canadian Armed Forces was in the process of recovering and analyzing the wreckage<\/p>\n\n\n\n