Chinese spy balloon may have been blown off intended course – report

US officials who tracked balloon from launch on Hainan island reportedly examining possibility that unusual weather took it over North America

The US is reportedly examining the possibility that the Chinese spy balloon was pushed off course by strong winds when it entered US airspace, having tracked it since its launch days earlier.

Of the four flying objects shot down by the US in recent weeks, only the first has been attributed to Chinese surveillance efforts. The balloon took off from China's Hainan island, before travelling on a path which appeared to go over Guam, according to the Washington Post on Tuesday. It then took an unexpected" turn to the north, the report said, citing anonymous US officials. After it entered Canadian airspace, strong winds blew it south over the border, the Post reported.