A car races towards a border crossing in the USA, flies tens of meters through the air and bursts into flames: the car’s mysterious journey and its explosion at the border between the USA and Canada temporarily sparked fears of a terrorist attack. Only hours after the incident not far from the world-famous Niagara Falls on Wednesday afternoon (local time) did the authorities give the all-clear: they are currently not assuming a terrorist background, said the governor of the US state of New York, Kathy Hochul. However, two occupants of the car were killed and a border officer suffered minor injuries. Footage of the spectacular incident suggests that something even worse could easily have happened.
The explosion occurred a day before the Thanksgiving holiday known as Thanksgiving in North America. It is the most important family celebration in the USA – and the days surrounding the Thursday holiday are the busiest time of the year for travel. “Stress levels are already high. We have been on heightened alert since October 7th,” said Governor Hochul, referring to the unprecedented massacre by Hamas terrorists in Israel and the global reaction to developments in the Middle East. In the USA, the Federal Police FBI had also warned of an increased risk of terrorism in this context. That’s why it was important to her to calm people down first, said Hochul.
The incident occurred in the city of Niagara Falls on the Rainbow Bridge – a bridge that connects Canada and the USA. Footage from surveillance cameras shows an almost unbelievable scene: The car is racing at high speed towards the border crossing on the US side, hits the median strip and is catapulted into the air in a spectacular way. It flies over a fence and – after being several meters in the air – explodes when it lands. “When you see this video, your jaw will drop,” Hochul said.
The governor emphasized that it was unclear whether the driver had intentionally driven towards the border crossing at this speed. That’s why she doesn’t want to talk about an accident. The authorities initially did not provide any information about the identity of the two occupants, who could only be recovered dead.
The New York Times, citing law enforcement sources, reported that the driver was believed to be a regular casino gambler who frequently crossed the U.S.-Canada border and had no criminal history. There are a number of casinos in the region.
The responsible office of the Federal Police FBI finally announced the completion of its investigations at the crime scene late on Wednesday evening (local time). Accordingly, neither explosives nor evidence of a terrorist background were found. Rather, the events were classified as a case for the traffic police. The FBI statement also left open what really happened.
The Rainbow Bridge is not far from Niagara Falls; tourists can cross it on foot. From there you have an impressive view of the waterfalls. The bridge is also open to cars, and there are major border crossings on both the Canadian and US sides.
After the incident, the authorities took a number of security precautions. Several border crossings between Canada and the USA have now been closed, and train traffic between the US state of New York and Canada has also been stopped. US President Joe Biden was informed of the incident. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Parliament: “We are taking this extremely seriously.”
