WASHINGTON - The U.S. military said on Saturday it will attempt to quickly recover key elements of a Chinese surveillance balloon among the debris off the coast of South Carolina after it was shot down by a F-22 fight jet, U.S. officials said on Saturday.

"That recovery is under way. How long it will take is still to-be-determined," a senior U.S. defense official told reporters, adding the debris was in relatively shallow waters.

A senior military official said he anticipated the recovery would not take weeks or months, and would instead move relatively quickly.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Sandra Maler)