China's Figure Skaters Under Probe After Displaying Prop Weapon at Event

ISU officials are conducting a formal inquiry after a pair of Chinese ice dancers appeared holding what looked like a replica weapon at an international skating competition.

Broadcast video captured the skaters sitting alongside a sizable prop shaped like a rocket marked “DF-61” while waiting for their scores in the “kiss and cry” zone during the event.

The DF-61 represents a recently introduced Chinese-made land-based intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons, that had been displayed at a military parade last month.

“The ISU is aware that an inappropriate plush item appears to have been one of the objects tossed onto the ice by audience members after a routine during the competition,” the organization stated via a release.

“The soft toy was subsequently held by the athletes who had just performed. The ISU regrets the incident and will look into it more deeply.”

Ren and Xing finished eighth out of ten teams during the ice dancing competition, which was won by the American pair of the United States.