Terrorism ruled out in car blast at US-Canada crossing
A car erupted into a fireball at a US-Canada checkpoint on Wednesday, triggering border closures on one of the busiest travel days in the American holiday calendar. Two people were killed in the blast, although their identities were not yet made public. Authorities said later they weren't sure what spurred the wreck, but that there were no signs it was a terror attack. The car exploded at the major Rainbow Bridge crossing near Niagara Falls, local and state authorities said.  Security camera video released by the US government showed the car race through an intersection on a wet road, hit a low median and vault high into the air in a US Customs and Border Protection area just east of the main vehicle checkpoint.  The car flew for metres, twisting, and then crashed into a line of booths out of the camera’s view. Both US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were briefed soon afterwards. The FBI's Buffalo office said late Wednesday that it had concluded its investigation: “A search of the scene revealed no explosive materials, and no terrorism nexus was identified,” it said in a statement. “The matter has been turned over to the Niagara Falls Police Department as a traffic investigation.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul and western New York's US attorney, Trini Ross, both sought to ease fears. “Based on what we know at this moment,” Hochul said at a news conference, “there is no sign of terrorist activity in this crash.” At a separate news conference with Ross nearby in Buffalo, Erie Country Sheriff John Garcia said, “We can go on with our lives.” Mike Guenther, a Canadian visiting the United States, described a dramatic, high-speed crash at the checkpoint. He told CBS News: "He went up into the air and we just seen the fireball and that's all we could see. It was just covered in smoke everywhere." The incident came on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest days for travel on the US holiday calendar when millions of Americans take to the roads and skies. (AP/AFP)_____________________________
Last updated: 2023-11-23 HKT 11:23 