Rainbow Bridge explosion: Police investigate vehicle blast at Niagara Falls

Police block the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday in Niagara Falls, New York. AP

American authorities on Wednesday were investigating a vehicle explosion on the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, a busy border crossing between the US and Canada.

Social media photos and video from bystanders showed thick smoke and flames on the roadway, and a security booth that had been burnt.

Unidentified law-enforcement sources told CNN that two people in the vehicle were dead. Fox News said one border patrol official had been injured.

CNN reported that the car had accelerated to more than 160kph.

“The FBI Buffalo field office is investigating a vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge, a border crossing between the US and Canada in Niagara Falls,” the office said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The FBI called the developing situation “very fluid” on a busy travel day before Thursday’s Thanksgiving celebrations in the US.

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force was investigating and monitoring “all points of entry to New York”, Governor Kathy Hochul said in a post on X.

“I’ve been briefed on the incident on the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls and we are closely monitoring the situation,” Ms Hochul said, adding in another post that she is on her way to Buffalo.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a post on X that he was “aware of the situation unfolding” and that “provincial law enforcement is actively engaged”.

Local news organisations and the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission said that all four international border crossings between the US and Canada in western New York were closed for the time being.

The Niagara border transport authority also said regional airports are receiving increased security, where all types of vehicles are checked and passengers given more screenings.