Two dead after explosion on Niagara Falls Rainbow Bridge connecting US and Canada

Crossings between the US and Canada have been shut after a vehicle explosion, as ITV News Security Editor Rohit Kachroo reports

Two people have died after a car exploded on a crossing over Niagara Falls.

The FBI is investigating the crash at the US-Canada Rainbow Bridge border crossing.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said there was “no indication of a terrorist attack” but it wasn't clear whether the driver was intentionally heading for Rainbow Bridge across the Niagara River when the vehicle crashed and flew into the air.

As the car was heading towards the secondary search area, an explosion occurred, sources told ITV News' US partner CNN. Authorities do not know what caused the explosion.

Sources said there are no serious injuries except to those who were in the car, CNN reports.

Rainbow Bridge is closed on both sides after the incident at a checkpoint on the crossing, according to the Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition.

Debris inside the customs plaza at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing. Credit: Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP

Speaking to WGRZ-TV, Mike Guenther said he saw a vehicle speeding towards 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,” Guenther told the station. “I never saw anything like it.”

Three other bridges between western New York and Ontario were quickly closed as a precaution.

“This is obviously a very serious situation in Niagara Falls,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in parliament, as he excused himself from Question Period in the House of Commons to be briefed further.

“We are taking this extraordinary seriously,” he added.

Photos and video taken by news organisations and posted on social media showed a security booth singed by flames.

Debris can be seen scattered about inside the customs plaza, where passport checks take place, at the border crossing,

Smoke rising from Niagara Falls Rainbow Bridge complex Credit: Jose Ventura via CNN

"At my direction, New York State Police is actively working with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to monitor all points of entry to New York," the state's governor Kathy Hochul said.

She added: "I am travelling to Buffalo to meet with law enforcement & emergency responders and will update New Yorkers when more information becomes available."

A vehicle was trying to enter the US side of the border, according to a spokesperson for the Niagara Falls mayor’s office.

The FBI Buffalo said in a statement: "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 FBI is coordinating with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in this investigation. At this situation is very fluid, that's all we can say at this time."

The Rainbow Bridge is one of four border crossings connecting Ontario to western New York.

The safety measures tied up traffic at the airport and elsewhere on one of the busiest U.S. travel days of the year, ahead of the American Thanksgiving holiday.

Trudeau said “additional measures” were being contemplated and activated at border crossings across Canada. In Toronto, about 100 miles (about 160 kilometers) away, police said they were increasing patrols as a precaution.

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