Rainbow Bridge crossing reopens 1 day after deadly car explosion

Canadian and U.S. border authorities say the Rainbow Bridge is back open as of Thursday evening, one day after a deadly car crash and explosion occurred on the American side of the border crossing.

The Canada Border Services Agency posted a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying the bridge was open in both directions.

A parallel message was posted by the account of the Buffalo field office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. It said operations resumed at 6:30 p.m. local time.

The U.S. border service's website indicated there were no reported delays for travellers on Thursday evening.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also posted about the reopening of the bridge, thanking border officers and "all working to keep New Yorkers safe during the busiest travel time of the year."

Investigation continues

Wednesday's events on the U.S. side of the bridge, which left two people dead, remain under investigation. The FBI has said "no explosive materials" were found in the aftermath and "no terrorism nexus was identified."

Video of the crash, caught on security camera and shared by the CBP, showed a car travelling from the U.S. side at high speed, then hitting an object and flying into the air before crashing to the ground and exploding in flames.

The driver and a passenger died. A CBP officer suffered minor injuries, and was treated at a hospital and released.

An ongoing investigation by the Niagara Falls Police Department is expected to take some time to complete "due to the complexity of the incident," Supt. John Faso said in a Thursday statement.