A Google Project Loon balloon crash-landed in Chile—maybe.
On Saturday, Chilean authorities cordoned off a section of land where Google's Internet-beaming balloon fell to the ground. Pictures published by local press show crumpled solar panels, used to power the balloons, and the balloons themselves in a heap.
Google, however, told the local press that it was simply conducting a test and was in control of its equipment while it descended to the ground, The Register reports. Police are now investigating the matter, but it does not appear that anyone was hurt.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Project Loon delivers Internet connectivity to regions that have little to no access to the Internet by beaming LTE wireless connectivity to the ground below.
"These days, with our latest balloon, here, we can navigate a two mile vertical stretch of sky and sail a balloon to within 500 meters of where we want it to go from 20,000 kilometers away," Astro Teller, head of Google X innovation, said in February. "We still need to lower balloon costs, but last year a balloon made inexpensively went around the world 19 times over 187 days, so we're going to keep going."
Facebook has a similar effort via its Connectivity Lab. Its solar-powered drone will eventually fly at a high altitude above normal airliners for up to three months at a time, bringing Internet to remote areas of the world using lasers and radio frequency technology.
Another effort, however, Free Basics, has faced opposition from those who argue that it's a net neutrality violation since it initially provided free access to a select few Web services. Facebook later said any service could join Free Basics if they meet certain requirements.