Three of the four bridges linking Canada and the United States in upstate New York have reopened, as has Buffalo International Airport, with authorities now downplaying initial fears of terrorism linked to a fiery vehicle explosion on the Niagara Falls International Rainbow Bridge.
BUF Airport, US-Canada Border Reopens After Freak Car Explosion At Rainbow Bridge
A fiery crash on the Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls on Wednesday sparked immediate terrorist concerns. At approximately 11:30 am ET a speeding Bentley rammed into the border crossing on the US side, going airborne and then exploding after hitting the ground. Pieces of the vehicle landed in front of a secondary checkpoint, causing minor injuries to one US border official.
CBP is working closely with @FBI, federal, state & local partners in response to a vehicle explosion at Rainbow Bridge which remains closed. Out of abundance of caution, CBP temporarily suspended inbound/outbound traffic at 3 other Buffalo crossings that have since reopened. pic.twitter.com/pTXyUsavRB
— CBP (@CBP) November 22, 2023
The unusual incident on the busiest travel day of the year sparked immediate terrorism fears, leading to the closure of four international bridges linking Canada and the USA. It also led to the suspension of Amtrak service connecting New York and Canada and led to the temporary closure of Buffalo International Airport (BUF).
However, New York Governor Kathy Hochul later downplayed the likelihood that this incident was terrorism at a news conference:
“I want to be very, very clear to Americans and New Yorkers, at this time there is no indication of a terrorist attack.
“No indication based on online threats or anyone taking credit for this – at this time. It’s still unfolding. But I didn’t want to leave the public with any uncertainty.
“Based on what is happening in the world, everyone is on edge. This is an international border. I won’t call it an accident yet. All we know is there was a horrific incident, a crash, a loss of life – but at this time: no known terrorism activity.”
The couple who died inside the Bentley have not been named, but have been identified as New York residents who were traveling to Canada for a KISS concert. They had spent the previous night at a casino near the border.
CONCLUSION
There were justifiable fears of terrorism after a car went airborne and then exploded at a US-Canada border checkpoint yesterday. Thankfully, it appears that this incident was not terrorism-related, though there are still many more questions than answers. Bridges between the US and Canada as well as BUF Airport have reopened.
image: DHS
Yeah, that quickly changed narrative. From terrorists, and even putting Buffalo airport on alert with car inspections etc, TO, oops, never mind, it’s just Beavis and Butthead coming back from a Kiss concert.
The Kiss concert in Canada that the married couple were to attend was cancelled, thus perhaps explaining why they were coming back from the casino in Canada.
Media is extremely irresponsible … There were some articles on here taken down as well that said Terrorists bomb the border. Boarding Area..once a place to read about cool travel experience is turning into mainstream media.
I don’t generally do these straight news stories, but I felt there were so many misleading headlines yesterday that I needed to briefly address what really happened.
Maybe no terrorism but it’s ironic that a lot of protests about the Palestine-Israeli conflict are sparking up in different cities around Canada and maybe in the US.
Nothing ironic about compatriots and neighbors with different views and priorities demonstrating publicly in opposition or otherwise. It’s been going on for at least as long as the US has been around as a democratic republic and Canada an independent country.
They are useful idiots. They are the same people who were blm a few years ago. For them it’s just the Cause du jour. In reality it’s just a way for the to act out at people they envy and are jealous of.
The Lord Trump worshippers are not to be envied and they are nothing over which to get jealous. The MAGA fellow travelers largely represent a demographic group that is increasingly insecure as it is seeing a relative decline in their own health and economic well-being and thus lashing out at growing demographic diversity. Canada has its American equivalents.
The KISS concert audience tends to be disproportionately ethnically European, older and leaning toward conservatism — just like that Gene Simmons dude, regardless of how he has voted over the years. Was this Bentley-driving couple BLM-supporting a few years ago? Doubt it, but whatever — they definitely shouldn’t have been driving like they did, and t led to unnecessary tragedy.
The deceased couple in their mid-50s are owners of a hardware/lumber business among other things, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were Trump supporters in the 2016 Presidential election as a lot of the Grand Island crowd was then.
Seems like the incident may have happened on their way into Canada after converting USD into Canadian dollars at the Seneca Niagara Resort/Casino in NY where they stopped for several minutes before their car would go on to gun it toward the border checkpoint and then take off due to a curb or barrier hit.