Explosion at the Canada border: Officials say no sign of terrorism in blast that killed 2

A speeding vehicle on the American side of a U.S.-Canada border crossing near Niagara Falls blew up Wednesday, killing two people and causing federal authorities to shut down four border checkpoints amid international concern.

The two people found dead were inside the vehicle that exploded. The FBI's field office in Buffalo said late Wednesday that it had concluded its investigation of the explosion on the Rainbow Bridge, which connects the two countries across the Niagara River.

"A search of the scene revealed no explosive materials, and no terrorism nexus was identified,” the FBI said in a statement. “The matter has been turned over to the Niagara Falls Police Department as a traffic investigation.”

Though details of the incident remained unclear Wednesday, New York officials sought to ease fears a few hours after the blast. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that based on a preliminary investigation, there was no sign of terrorist involvement.

Law enforcement was not aware of any threats to the area, Hochul said. The vehicle was incinerated and pieces of the car were widely scattered, she said.

A witness, Mike Guenther, told WGRZ-TV he saw a vehicle speeding toward the crossing from the U.S. side of the border when it swerved to avoid another car, crashed into a fence and exploded.

“All of a sudden he went up in the air and then it was a ball of fire like 30 or 40 feet high,” Guenther told the station. “I never saw anything like it.”

President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland were briefed on the explosion. Biden and his team were closely following developments, according to the White House.

The Federal Aviation Administration initially ordered a halt to international arriving and departing international flights at Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Wednesday afternoon in response to the potential threat. The FAA lifted it after about two hours, CNN reported.

The Canada Border Services Agency said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that it was "aware of an evolving situation at Rainbow Bridge."

"We are liaising with our U.S. counterparts on this matter. The FBI is leading on the ongoing investigation," the statement read.

On Wednesday afternoon, New York Assemblymember Michael Novakhov wrote on Facebook that "all border crossings between the U.S. and Canada remain closed and local government offices in the immediate area have been closed and evacuated."

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said his team and the New York Police Department "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."

What happened at the Rainbow Bridge crossing?

Security camera footage released by the U.S. government showed the vehicle speed through an intersection on a wet road, hit a low median and vault into the air in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection area just east of the main vehicle checkpoint. The car crashed into a line of booths out of the camera’s view.

Hochul said the driver was traveling at an "extraordinarily high rate of speed" before it crashed into the median and went airborne. A Western New York resident was involved, she said.

The explosion left one border patrol agent who was working in the booth injured, Hochul said.

According to Matthew Miraglia, the FBI special agent in charge in Buffalo, investigators had found no “derogatory” information on the driver.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said Wednesday night that he was in contact with both the FBI and the White House. Investigators had found “no connection to any terrorist or criminal group," and there was no evidence of chemicals or substances used for explosives, Schumer said.

“Today’s events demonstrate that the threats to the men and women of CBP, not to mention all law enforcement personnel, are ever present and deadly serious,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., the chairman of the homeland security committee, in a statement late Wednesday.

American and Canadian airlines increase security, halt flights; Amtrak suspends routes

International flights were canceled at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Southwest Airlines, which has 14 daily departures to six cities from Buffalo’s airport, issued a travel advisory for customers who wanted to change their Wednesday flights because of potential disruptions, spokesperson Chris Perry said.

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority released a statement Wednesday afternoon to inform travelers that while Buffalo and Niagara Falls Airports were "fully operational," there would be extra security.

"In the response to the incident that is unfolding at the Rainbow Bridge, the NFTA is increasing security system-wide," the agency said in a statement on X. "Cars coming into the Buffalo Airport will undergo security checks and travelers can expect additional screenings."

The agency advised travelers "to give themselves time for these extra precautions in addition to holiday travel."

What is the Rainbow Bridge?

The Niagara Falls International Rainbow Bridge is an arch bridge that connects the cities of Niagara Falls, New York, in the United States and Niagara Falls, Ontario, in Canada. The bridge can be crossed by car, on foot or by bicycle.

Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas, Bart Jansen, Michael Collins and Dinah Pulver, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rainbow Bridge explosion closes US-Canada border crossing point