Rainbow Bridge explosion: Two dead after vehicle crashes into US-Canada border checkpoint in Niagara Falls

Earlier reports from outlets including CNN have been updated. The vehicle involved in the explosion had been approaching the border crossing from the US side.

Contrary to earlier reports that stated that the vehicle had been directed to a secondary checkpoint, CNN now says that as the car headed towards a checkpoint area it accelarated to a “high rate of speed”, hit a curb and became airbourne before hitting a secondary checkpoint.

Officials told CNN say there is currently nothing to indicate an ongoing threat.

New York City mayor Eric Adams says that officers from the New York Police Department (NYPD) are being sent upstate to assist with operations on the ground at Niagara Falls.

Mr Adams wrote on X that enhanced security measures were already in place in the lead up to Thanksgiving on Thursday.

“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,” he wrote.

“The NYPD and our partners have already enhanced security, and the city is on heightened alert due to the upcoming holiday, so the public will see increased security at locations across New York City, including entry and egress points into and out of the city.

“We have also reached out to, and are in ongoing communication with, partners from across different levels of government to assist with this effort. Our number one priority is, and always will be, the safety of New Yorkers.

“We will release additional information as it becomes available and will have more information to share this afternoon at our pre-arranged security briefing on the Thanksgiving Day Parade.”

The Buffalo airport has been closed to all arriving and departing international flights, following the explosion at the US-Canada border crossing at Niagara Falls.

According to CNN, who cited sources in the FAA, there is no indication of when this closure will expire.

US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wrote on X: “I’ve been briefed by our staff in NY state and HQ on the explosion & related bridge closures on the US-Canada border and am in touch with my Canadian counterpart.

“Travelers in the area should follow instructions & updates from law enforcement & state officials on travel impacts.”

Thick smoke, flames and a singed security booth could be seen in photos and video taken by bystanders and posted on social media. Videos showed that the fire was in a US Customs and Border Protection area just east of the main vehicle checkpoint.

Speaking to WGRZ-TV, witness Mike Guenther said he saw a vehicle speeding toward the crossing from the US 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,” Mr Guenther told the station. “I never saw anything like it.”

The White House is “closely monitoring” the incident at the Rainbow Bridge crossing near Niagara Falls.

“The White House is closely monitoring the situation and law enforcement is on-scene and investigating,” a White House official told The Independent

President Joe Biden is currently in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he is spending the Thanksgiving holiday with family, according to CNN.

The two occupants of a car that exploded at the US-Canada border crossing at Niagara Falls are dead, a law enforcement source told CNN.

The vehicle had been attempting to enter the US from the Canadian side of the border on the bridge that connects Canada to New York State.

It went through the initial checkpoint where they examine passports and licenses and then was directed to another area for a secondary search, CNN reported.