US Army Tracking Mysterious Balloon over Hawaii

NBC News quoted three US officials as saying that the military was tracking a "mysterious" balloon that had flown over US soil.

According to the officials, whose names were not revealed, the nature of the balloon, or the party to which it belongs, was not known.

The officials revealed that the balloon had flown past parts of Hawaii, but did not pass over any sensitive areas.

"US military has been tracking the balloon since late week, and has classified it as not posing any threat to air traffic or national security, nor is it sending any signals," the officials affirmed.

The US official did not rule out the possibility of the army dropping the balloon if it approached the ground, explaining that it was not known yet whether it was intended to study the weather.

Officials indicated that the flying object was unable to maneuver and was moving slowly toward Mexico and that they did not believe it belonged to the Chinese.

Last February, the US military shot down a balloon over the Atlantic Ocean that the Chinese allegedly used to gather intelligence.