Vehicle explodes at US-Canada border – FBI investigates
Emergency services in front of the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday
Source: AP/Derek Gee
A car exploded at a border crossing between the US and Canada near Niagara Falls. According to US media reports, the two occupants of the vehicle died. The US Federal Police have started an investigation. Four border crossings were closed.
AA car exploded on the American side of a border bridge between the USA and Canada on Wednesday. The US Federal Police FBI launched an investigation after the explosion at the Rainbow Bridge near the world-famous Niagara Falls. The situation is “very uncertain,” the FBI said. The AP news agency reported that a total of four border crossings in the region were closed following the explosion. The background to the incident is still unclear.
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul wrote on the online platform X that the New York Police Department was working with the FBI’s terrorism task force at all entry points into New York. She herself will travel to the nearby city of Buffalo. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke of a “very serious situation”.
The White House said US President Joe Biden had been informed of the incident. He and his team followed developments closely.
Photos and videos taken by passers-by and posted on social media show thick smoke, flames on the sidewalk and a security booth scorched by the flames.
Debris lies around the border crossing
Source: AP/Derek Gee
The US news channels CNN and Fox News reported, citing police sources, that the two occupants of the exploded car had died. Accordingly, the vehicle should have been checked more closely after an initial inspection. The car is said to have accelerated, crashed into a barrier and exploded. The FBI is classifying the incident as an attempted “terror attack,” Fox News reported, citing unnamed insiders.