China confirms unintended entry of civilian airship into US airspace due to force majeure

BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed on Friday the unintended entry of a civilian airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure.

According to previous media reports, a Chinese unmanned airship has been recently spotted in the U.S. airspace.

The spokesperson said in a statement that the airship is from China, noting it is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course, according to the spokesperson.

The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure, said the spokesperson, adding the Chinese side will continue communicating with the U.S. side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure.