Josh Pieters and Archie Manners, two popular YouTubers, shared a prank video where they flew a makeshift 'spy balloon' over the Chinese embassy in London amid the spy balloon scandal between the US and China. They were accused of triggering World War III, according to a report by the New York Post.
The duo used a large weather balloon purchased from eBay and helium from another store, as well as a 'spy camera' for their prank. In response to the ongoing US-China feud, they decided to fly the balloon over Chinese airspace, claiming that the embassy was considered China's legal territory.
The 29-year-olds recorded a viral video of the balloon with a GoPro attached, flying above the embassy in Marylebone. They made jokes about the building's high security and claimed to have captured dark secrets on camera, including footage of a man on the roof talking on the phone. However, when a police van arrived with its sirens blaring, the pranksters quickly popped the balloon and left without incident, according to reports by Metro.
Watch the viral video of YouTubers flying mock 'spy balloon' over Chinese Embassy in London:
The US military has previously shot down a Chinese surveillance craft that was hovering over sensitive locations in the US. There have also been at least four instances of balloons being spotted over Hawaii, Florida, Texas, and Guam, which were later identified as Chinese surveillance airships.
Three of these instances occurred during the Trump administration but were only recently identified as such, according to reports. The Pentagon released images of the high-altitude surveillance balloon being recovered on Tuesday
