The sensors from the first Chinese “spy” balloon which was shot down over the US were recovered from the Atlantic Ocean, the US military announced.

Specifically, the Pentagon reported that US military has recovered ‘significant debris’ from the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down earlier in the month.

“Crews were able to recover significant debris from the site, including all sensors and electronic components that were located as well as large parts of its structure,” he said.

The balloon, shot down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4, was the first in a series of mysterious objects shot down by the US military over eight days in North American airspace.

The FBI is examining the items, which the US says were used to spy on sensitive military sites.

“Large portions of the structure” were also recovered Monday off the coast of South Carolina, military officials say.

White House spokesman John Kirby said Monday that in addition to the Chinese balloon, three other objects were subsequently shot down. He said they posed “no immediate threat to people on the ground” but were destroyed “to protect our security, our interests and the safety of flights”.

The first balloon shot down over South Carolina was described by officials as the size of three buses. The second object, over Alaska, was described as the size of a “small car”. The third object, over Yukon, was “cylindrical” and the fourth, over Michigan, was said to be “octagonal” with cords.

However, Monday’s update on the balloon findings came amid mounting criticism of the Biden administration for not revealing everything it knew about the unprecedented and extraordinary sequence of events that began with the downing of the Chinese balloon off South Carolina on the 4th February.