2 killed in vehicle explosion on US-Canada border

ATLANTA (Pajhwok): At least two people have been killed as a result of an explosion in a vehicle on the United States-Canadian border.

The border crossing had to be closed following the blast, which killed two people inside the vehicle on the US side of the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday afternoon.

A law-enforcement official told The Associated Press three other bridges between western New York and Ontario were quickly closed as a precaution, and the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport began security checks on all cars and told passengers to expect additional screenings.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was briefed on the incident and the White House said that it was closely monitoring the situation.

Several hours after the blast, there was relief when New York Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters: "Based on what we know at this moment, there is no sign of terrorist activity with respect to this crash."

No further information was immediately available on the cause of the explosion.

Note: Some information from the VOA has been used in this report.

kk/mud