U.S. officials finish search for debris from balloon shot down off South Carolina

The military has concluded its efforts to recover debris from what the U.S. government says was a Chinese government surveillance balloon that was downed off the coast of South Carolina.

U.S. Northern Command officials said Friday that it wrapped up recovery efforts Thursday and is sending the final pieces of debris to an FBI lab in Virginia for analysis.

The balloon, which was shot down Feb. 4, was the first of four objects downed after flying in U.S. airspace in recent weeks. Three smaller objects, which have not been similarly identified by the U.S. government as surveillance equipment, were subsequently shot down over Canada, Alaska and Lake Huron.