A vehicle exploded at Niagara Falls, causing a fire and smoke to billow on Rainbow Bridge along the US-Canada border.

The car reportedly sped the wrong way and struck border inspection booths on Wednesday morning.

Two witnesses said they heard a loud noise and that a massive smoke cloud formed near the inspections station around 11.20am, according to the Niagara Gazette.

‘We heard something smash,’ said one of the witnesses, Ivan Vitalii who was visiting from Ukraine. ‘We saw fire and big, black smoke.’

Rainbow Bridge was closed to traffic and a Niagara Falls Police Department captain directed away motorists and pedestrians near the inspections plaza.

All four border crossings by land between the US and Canada have now been shuttered.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul directed the state police to work with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force ‘to monitor all points of entry to New York’.

‘I am traveling to Buffalo to meet with law enforcement and emergency responders and will update New Yorkers when more information becomes available,’ she stated.

MORE : Paper Talk: ‘Pro-rich tax giveaway’ & ‘Snap Spring election’

MORE : Energy price cap set to rise in January

MORE : Two migrants die crossing Channel in small boat