(Reuters) - A day before a U.S. military jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, Colombia's military confirmed a sighting over its territory of an airborne object similar to a balloon.

Colombia's air force said in a brief statement on Saturday that a possible balloon had been detected in its air defense system on Friday morning.

U.S. military officials on Friday said a Chinese balloon was spotted somewhere over Latin America but did not specify its location.

The Colombian statement did not mention China or any other country as the balloon's origin.

According to the Colombian statement, an "object" was detected over its territory at an altitude of 55,000 feet that had entered the South American country's airspace to the north moving at an average speed of 25 knots, or roughly 29 miles per hour.

The statement added that the object exhibited "characteristics similar to those of a balloon," and that the air force monitored it until it left Colombian airspace.

Related video: Hear what retired fighter pilot thinks about shooting down Chinese spy balloon (CNN)

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