Rainbow Bridge remains closed day after deadly explosion
CTV
The normally busy Rainbow Bridge border crossing between Canada and the United States remains shut down for a second day following a deadly vehicle explosion Wednesday.
The normally busy Rainbow Bridge border crossing between Canada and the United States remains shut down for a second day following a deadly vehicle explosion Wednesday.
Two people were killed in the explosion on the U.S. side of the crossing linking Ontario and New York State just before 11:30 a.m. yesterday.
According to officials, a vehicle sped down the road leading up to a border checkpoint before leaving the roadway, crossing a median and becoming airborne.
The incident was initially being treated as terrorism, but officials have since said they are treating it as a traffic incident.
New York Governor called surveillance footage released of the incident “surreal.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said provincial law enforcement was “actively engaged“ in assessing the situation and were working with U.S. officials as required.
The fatal incident shut down all four border crossings in Niagara Region on the eve of the busy U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Around 6,000 vehicles cross the rainbow bridge each day, according to U.S. figures. But that number was 11,933 — almost double — last year on Thanksgiving.