A speeding car crashed and exploded in a deadly fireball on a US-Canada border bridge, triggering a major security scare on the eve of Thanksgiving.
Two people in the vehicle died, and a US border agent was injured, but New York’s governor ruled out terrorism.
The car was being driven from the New York side of the border to Rainbow Bridge when it crashed at a checkpoint.
The incident near Niagara Falls saw the closure of four bridges on the world’s longest international border.
The explosion happened at around 11:30 local time (16:30 GMT) on Wednesday, causing serious disruption on one of the busiest travel days of the year, the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.
Train services between New York and Canada were temporarily halted and officers at Buffalo and Niagara Falls airports went into a heightened state of alert screening cars for explosives.
The incident stoked fears of a possible terror attack, and baseless speculation swirled online about a supposed threat to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
Both US President Joe Biden, who is in Massachusetts for Thanksgiving, and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were quickly briefed on the incident.
