Highway 97 bridge in Kelowna reopens after bomb threat
Posted January 27, 2025 12:15 pm.
Last Updated January 27, 2025 8:09 pm.
A major bridge in Kelowna remained closed into the afternoon on Monday after an early morning bomb threat.
The Kelowna RCMP says a “distraught” man parked a van across both eastbound lanes of the William R. Bennett Bridge, part of Highway 97, around 3:30 a.m. and started a fire in the vehicle.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!Insp. Chris Gable explains that officers were able to convince the man to get out of the vehicle and he was taken to hospital.
“The man had made some threatening comments to the police, concerning his own well-being, before starting a fire within the vehicle. The Kelowna Fire Department was also on scene and able to immediately extinguish the fire,” Gable said.
Gable adds that officers are unable to get closer to the van to investigate further. According to reports online, the vehicle in question is an ice cream truck.
“The known contents of the van alone present a significant risk to public safety,” he explained.
“However, it is unclear if there are additional materials of concern, as a search of the vehicle would place emergency personnel at undue risk at the moment.”
Police say no one else has been injured, however, the suspect’s condition is unclear.
In an update around 2:20 p.m., the RCMP announced that the bridge had reopened after an Explosive Disposal Unit (EDU) was deployed.
“The vehicle was examined by EDU who rendered the vehicle safe for transport. The bridge has since been reopened to traffic in both directions.”
Mounties provided no further details, except to say that the investigation is ongoing.
The Interior Health authority said some of its heatlh-care workers at Kelowna General, including surgeons and nurses, were ferried across the lake by the fire department’s marine unit.
Some patients, meanwhile, were forced to drive the long way around the lake via Vernon — a two hour drive, in contrast with the usual ten minute commute.
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