Governor Hocal visited the scene immediately after the accident on the 22nd.
Two people killed in explosion after speeding car collided with fence
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau also called it a “serious incident.”
New York Governor Cathy Hocal announced on the 22nd (local time) that “there are no signs of a terrorist attack” regarding the accident in which two people were killed in a car explosion on the Rainbow Bridge, where the U.S.-Canada border checkpoint in Niagara Falls is located.
“Based on the information we currently have, there are no indications that this incident was terrorist activity,” Hocal said.
The vehicle in question was driving at high speed from Niagara Falls in New York State toward the Rainbow Bridge earlier that day when it collided with a fence and exploded. This bridge is over the Niagara River and connects the two countries.
Due to this accident, all four checkpoints in the nearby area, including this checkpoint, were immediately closed.
Police are investigating the accident, but the exact cause is not yet known, and the U.S. and Canadian governments on both sides of the falls are on alert.
The White House said, “President Joe Biden is closely monitoring the development of this case,” and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said, “Local authorities are taking this case particularly seriously.”
According to what police told the Associated Press, the two dead were people in the car. He declined to say anything further, saying he had no authority to comment as the case is still under investigation.
Niagara Falls city spokesman Aaron Ferguson said it appears the car was speeding, and Jim Diodati, mayor of Niagara Falls, Ontario, told Canada’s CBC that the incident appeared to be an “isolated vehicle accident.”
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating locally, and New York Governor Cathy Hocal also traveled from the state capital, Albany, to Buffalo to hear a report on the incident.
Witnesses said that immediately after the exploded vehicle, it became a ball of flames about 10 meters high, soared into the sky, and then fell.
Due to the closure of this and other checkpoints, the area around the site and the nearby airport were stranded during the peak Thanksgiving travel season, and chaos continued for a while.
The Rainbow Bridge carries more than 6,000 vehicles a day, 5% of which are trucks, according to statistics from the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Division. Built in 1941, this bridge is made of iron and is 439 meters long.
[나이아가라폭포( 미 뉴욕주)= AP/뉴시스]
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.