According to a report by Bloomberg, hundreds of people on the Andaman and Nicobar islands ventured outside and snapped photos of the unusual flying object, sharing them on social medi
Indian officials are revisiting an incident wherein locals on a strategic Indian island chain that sits closer to Singapore than New Delhi spotted an unusual object in the sky last year, similar to the "spy balloon" that U.S. shot down earlier this month.
According to a report by Bloomberg, hundreds of people on the Andaman and Nicobar islands ventured outside and snapped photos of the unusual flying object, sharing them on social media. The islands are close to India’s missile testing areas in the Bay of Bengal and sit near the Malacca Strait.
Officials said that the object appeared suddenly over the island chain, slipping past numerous Indian radar systems on the way. Before authorities could determine the balloon’s origin and reach a decision on whether to bring it down, the object drifted southwest into the ocean, they said.
Local media outlets including Andaman Sheekha also reported the incident last year. In a report, it claimed that a "white sphere shaped object, looking somewhat like weather balloon" was spotted in the sky.
Earlier this month, the U.S. shot down what it suspected to be a Chinese "surveillance" balloon that was hovering over the U.S. airspace for a couple of days. In light of this incident, Indian officials are revisiting the incident while developing protocols to improve their ability to detect similar threats and respond more quickly in the future, according to the report.
Experts had expressed concern, stating that even if it's not armed, the balloon poses a risk to the United States. Retired Army General John Ferrari said the flight itself can be used to test America's ability to detect incoming threats and to find holes in the country's air defense warning system.
(With inputs from AP)