A vehicle speeding toward a US-Canada bridge from the American side crashed and exploded at a checkpoint in Niagara Falls on Wednesday, November 22, leaving two people dead and prompting the closing of four border crossings in the area, authorities said.
There was no immediate information on the cause of the incident, but it raised concerns on both sides of the border. The White House said President Joe Biden was "closely following developments," and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said officials were "taking this extraordinarily seriously."
"This is obviously a very serious situation in Niagara Falls," Trudeau said in Parliament before excusing himself from Question Period in the House of Commons to be briefed further.
The two deceased people were in the vehicle, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Aaron Ferguson, a spokesperson for the city of Niagara Falls, New York, said the vehicle was traveling at high speed from that city and crashed into the border station.
Jim Diodati, the mayor of Niagara Falls, Ontario, told The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that what happened appeared to be "an isolated incident."
The US FBI’s field office in Buffalo and other agencies were investigating the blast. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul traveled to Buffalo from the state capital, Albany.
The explosion happened on the US side of the Rainbow Bridge, which connects the two countries across the Niagara River.
Photos and video taken by bystanders and posted on social media showed thick smoke, flames on the pavement and a security booth that had been singed. Videos showed that the fire was in a US Customs and Border Protection area just east of the main vehicle checkpoint. The agency had no immediate comment.