Rainbow Bridge: Two dead after car flew into air and exploded on US-Canada border
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A car exploded on a bridge connecting Canada and the US on Wednesday, leaving two people dead and prompting both nations to bolster their border security measures.
The car was in the process of crossing the Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls, one of the busiest crossings between the US and Canada, when the explosion occurred.
Two male passengers who were in the car at the time were declared dead at the scene, according to law enforcement sources on the ground. A border agent was also injured.
Photos and video from the scene showed large flames near a security booth at the crossing. Eye witnesses described the car rising around 10 feet into the air after it hit a fence, before it crashed to the ground in a ball of fire.
US terrorism investigators were deployed to the scene, but the FBI said later that their initial inquiries showed no sign of a terror attack.
Asked why he believes there isn’t a threat of terrorism, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia told reporters the FBI had identified a suspect and looked into his background.
“We do not have any derogatory information on this person that we’ve identified, we’re scanning his social media, there’s nothing there, we’re still running a full investigation so that’s a preliminary assessment,” he said.
“We feel, at this point, this might be just something that occurred, there’s no larger picture here to look at for now.”
Canadian officials said it was too early to confirm whether it was a “deliberate act”.
Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, said his government was taking the incident “extraordinarily seriously”.
All four border crossings between Canada and western New York were closed amid the heightened security alert.
Mr Trudeau said officials were implementing “additional measures” at all other border crossings across the country.
“This is obviously a very serious situation at Niagara Falls. There was a vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge crossing,” he told the Canadian House of Commons.
Law enforcement sources said the car passed through a preliminary checkpoint between Canada and the US and then exploded close to a secondary checkpoint.
Security footage appears to show the car then travelling along a road on the US side of the bridge at an “extraordinarily high rate of speed”, New York governor Kathy Hochul said.
The car then hit a curb, became airborne and landed in a secondary search area on the bridge before exploding:
It is unclear what prompted the car to accelerate, and whether the explosion was a result of it landing on impact or due to an explosive device.
An initial US customs and border protection assessment suggested the cause was reckless driving, a source familiar with the investigation told Reuters.
I’ve been newly briefed by the @FBI this evening on the incident at Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.
They have now confirmed that there is no reason at present to believe this was terrorism.
And they believe they have the identity of the driver.— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) November 22, 2023
Ms Hochul told a press conference there is a “suspicion that the vehicle may have originated in that vicinity” of a casino.
Eye witness Mike Guenther, a Canadian visiting the US, said the car appeared to be travelling over 100 miles per hour.
“We’ve seen this car coming down towards the border and he was flying - over 100 miles an hour,” he told CBS News.
The car then swerved and “hit the fence, went flying up into the air,” he said, describing an ensuing “fireball”.
The Rainbow Bridge is one of four border crossings connecting Ontario to western New York - among the busiest entry points between Canada and New York.
The others - Lewiston, Whirlpool and Peace Bridge - were all closed as a precaution but had reopened by Wednesday evening.
An FBI joint terrorism task force (JTTF) is investigating the car explosion, Ms Hochul said.
“At my direction, New York State Police is actively working with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to monitor all points of entry to New York”, she said.
Giving an update on Wednesday evening she said there was so far “no sign of terrorist activity in this crash.”
Israel-Hamas war has US on higher alert
Officials were also bolstering security in the US capital of Washington DC.
The incident came on one of America’s busiest travel days - the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday - prompting added wait times as millions of Americans were travelling.
Joe Biden was briefed on the incident from Nantucket, where the US president and his family are spending the holiday.
“He and his team are closely following developments,” the White House said.
Last month, FBI director Chris Wray warned the US was facing the most significant terror threat since the rise of the Islamic State nearly a decade ago as a result of the Israel-Hamas war.
Since the start of the conflict in Gaza, multiple foreign terrorist organisations have called for attacks against Americans and the West, raising the threat posed by homegrown violent extremists, Mr Wray said.
Meanwhile it emerged on Monday that New York City, home to the largest Jewish population of any city, was at increased risk of a possible terror attack in a new threat assessment by New York State’s intelligence centre.
The intelligence centre warned that the spread of antisemitic and anti-Palestinian rhetoric on social media is fueling an increase in hate crimes targeting Jews, Muslims and Arabs.
12:15 AM GMT
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Thanks for following along with our live coverage of today’s explosion on the US/Canada border.
12:13 AM GMT
CCTV pictures of the explosion
11:47 PM GMT
FBI says no signs crash was terror-related
Asked why he believes there isn’t a threat of terrorism, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia said, “We do have someone in mind for it and we’re working through it through the JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force).”
“We do not have any derogatory information on this person that we’ve identified, we’re scanning his social media, there’s nothing there, we’re still running a full investigation so that’s a preliminary assessment.
“We feel, at this point, this might be just something that occurred, there’s no larger picture here to look at for now.”
11:19 PM GMT
Chuck Schumer: FBI has identified the driver
I’ve been newly briefed by the @FBI this evening on the incident at Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.
They have now confirmed that there is no reason at present to believe this was terrorism.
And they believe they have the identity of the driver.— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) November 22, 2023
10:42 PM GMT
Three of four border bridges reopened
Three of the four bridges joining Canada and the US have been reopened.
The Peace, Lewiston-Queenston and Whirlpool bridges had been closed for several hours following the blast.
The Rainbow Bridge - where the crash happened - remains closed.
“We’re going to make sure the public is safe before they go back on the Rainbow Bridge”, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said.
Amtrak has temporarily suspended its cross border service between New York State and Canada.
10:30 PM GMT
Driver was a Western New Yorker
Appearing to refer to the driver, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said: “We’ve identified that this is a local individual, a western New Yorker, two individuals died in the vehicle.”
She said a border patrol staff member working in the booth was injured and the booth had “literally protected that individual”.
The staff member was taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries and has now been released.
10:23 PM GMT
New York Governor: No sign of terrorist attack
Governor Kathy Hochul is currently holding a press conference on the car explosion.
She said while more information could arise, based on the preliminary investigation there is “no sign of terrorist involvement in the horrific explosion that occurred here in Western New York.”
She said it was a “horrific incident, a crash, an explosion, loss of life, but at this time no known terrorist connection”.
She said the driver had been travelling at an “extraordinarily high rate of speed”.
09:59 PM GMT
Car was travelling from US into Canada
The car was driving from the US side of the border towards Canada when it exploded, sources told CNN.
Police officials told the broadcaster CCTV analysis traced the car to a New York casino ahead of the incident.
While the authorities have identified the owner of the vehicle, they are still working to identify the bodies of those killed.
09:50 PM GMT
Bomb ruled out as cause of blast
A bomb has been ruled out as the cause of the blast which killed two people at the border, a source told Reuters.
The source said terrorism had not yet been discounted “because we really have no idea what happened”.
09:38 PM GMT
Where the explosion happened
09:35 PM GMT
New York Mayor says NYPD officers deployed to support
The NYPD and our team have been closely monitoring the situation on the ground in Buffalo after an explosion at the Rainbow Bridge, and we’ve already sent NYPD officers upstate to support efforts on the ground.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) November 22, 2023
09:11 PM GMT
Extra security at US - Canada borders
Extra security measures have been put in place at border zones across the US and Canada.
Security has been bolstered in Washington DC.
The Buffalo Niagara International airport is closed to international flights on one of the busiest travel days of the year for America. Domestic flights are still arriving and departing, but the TSA said it was operating in a “heightened state”.
08:47 PM GMT
Watch: Footage from the scene
The Telegraph’s video desk has put together this wrap of the footage we have so far from the scene.
08:44 PM GMT
Incident appears to be 'reckless driver', initial assessment suggests
An initial US customs and border protection assessment suggests the incident was caused by reckless driving, a source familiar with the investigation told Reuters.
The assessment suggests the crash and fire were not caused by a deliberate act.
07:50 PM GMT
Car 'sped up' before explosion
US media cited law enforcement sources as saying there were two people in the car, which had passed through one border checkpoint where it was selected for a secondary check.
The car then sped up, crashed into a barrier and exploded, the sources said, stressing it was unclear if the blast was the result of the impact or from a device.
07:50 PM GMT
Dramatic images of the scene
Here are some of the images we are getting from the scene.
07:32 PM GMT
Trudeau: 'We are taking this extraodinarily seriously'
Mr Trudeau said his government was taking the situation “extraordinarily seriously” as he addressed Canadian MPs in Parliament just now.
“There are a lot of questions”, Mr Trudeau said, “and we are following up to try and get as many answers as rapidly as possible”.
He said: “We are in close contact with US officials and we’ll continue to work closely with them.”
Mr Trudeau said all four border crossings from Canada into western New York were currently closed.
“Additional Measures are being contemplated and activated at all border crossings across the country,” he said.
“We are taking this extraordinarily seriously.”
Mr Trudeau then excused himself from the chamber so he could go and receive “further updates and work on this very serious situation”.
The Canadian Prime Minister was applauded by other MPs as he left the chamber.
07:25 PM GMT
Canada: Too soon to say if it was 'deliberate act'
Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian public safety minister, said he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were receiving regular updates on the incidents.
Mr LeBlanc said there was currently no reliable, verifiable information on whether there was a public safety risk.
He added that it was “too soon” to say if the explosion was a “deliberate act”.
07:23 PM GMT
Reports of two passengers dead
The two passengers in the exploded car are dead, according to sources quoted by Fox News.
One border patrol has also been injured, the cable network reported.
07:15 PM GMT
Biden being briefed
President Joe Biden is being brought up to speed on the incident during his Thanksgiving break in Nantucket, an official said.
The White House is closely monitoring the situation.
07:08 PM GMT
Joint terror task force investigating
A joint terrorism task force (JTTF) is investigating the incident, the New York governor said.
“At my direction, New York State Police is actively working with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to monitor all points of entry to New York,” Kathy Hochul said.
There is understood to be a system-wide uptick in security screenings at the border as a result. It comes on one of America’s busiest travel days of the year - the day before the Thanksgiving holiday.
At my direction, @nyspolice is actively working with the @FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to monitor all points of entry to New York.
I am traveling to Buffalo to meet with law enforcement & emergency responders & will update New Yorkers when more information becomes available.— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) November 22, 2023
06:59 PM GMT
Car was attempting to enter the US
A car was attempting to enter the US side of the border, according to a spokesman for the mayor of the city of Niagara Falls.
“We don’t really know too much – just that there was a vehicle trying to come into the US and they shut down both sides of the bridge,” Aaron Ferguson told CNN.
06:44 PM GMT
Photo from the scene
A photo from the scene shows what is left after a vehicle exploded at Rainbow Bridge.
06:42 PM GMT
Explosion on Rainbow Bridge
The FBI’s field office in Buffalo said in a statement that it was investigating the explosion on the Rainbow Bridge, which connects the two countries across the Niagara River.
Photos and video taken by news organisations and posted on social media showed a security booth that had been singed by flames.
Further information wasn’t immediately available.
06:40 PM GMT
Border crossing closed
Border crossing between US and Canada closed after vehicle explosion on bridge near Niagara Falls, FBI says
06:38 PM GMT
This is a breaking news story
The FBI has described the situation as “very fluid”. We will keep you updated.