Rainbow Bridge reopens as probe of ‘horrific’ vehicle explosion continues
globalnews.caThe Rainbow Bridge border crossing between Canada and the United States was reopened Thursday evening as the investigation into a “horrific” vehicle explosion the day before continues.
The Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Buffalo office confirmed operations at the crossing resumed just after 6:30 p.m. Eastern, more than 30 hours after the crash that killed two people.
The other three border checkpoints that cross the Niagara River between Ontario and New York state — Lewiston-Queensway Bridge, Whirlpool Bridge and Peace Bridge — were reopened Wednesday evening, allowing thousands of people to travel through the region for the busy American Thanksgiving holiday.
The holiday, which also includes the popular Black Friday shopping event, is one of the busiest travel days of the year for North America.
Rainbow Bridge closed Wednesday after a vehicle exploded at the port of entry. Two people were killed and a third person was injured.
Security on both sides of the border was immediately heightened after the incident, which happened before noon Eastern.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday night the incident was a “horrific accident” and not an act of terrorism.
Hochul said that the damage at Rainbow Bridge means it will take time to find out what happened, and that the vehicle appeared to crash into a U.S. Customs and Border Protection booth at a high rate of speed, exploding upon impact.
“The vehicle is basically incinerated. Nothing is left but the engine,” she said, adding the debris was spread out over a dozen or so checkpoint booths.
“At this time, there is no indication of a terrorist attack.”
The FBI office in Buffalo said Wednesday night no “terrorism nexus” was found, and
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