iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
An Indian and a Romanian family died while crossing over into the US illegally. Six bodies were recovered from the St. Lawrence River on Thursday, March 30. The Canadian police said that two families of Romanian and Indian origins were trying to enter the U.S. illegally.
On Friday, March 31, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said that the six bodies, including that of a child, were found in a marsh area during an aerial search with the Canadian Coast Guard. Police said that the child was found with a Canadian passport and that he was traveling with the Romanian family. Officials believe a second child from the same family is still missing.
“All are believed to have been attempting illegal entry into the U.S. from Canada,” said Akwesasne deputy police chief Lee-Ann O’Brien. The bodies were discovered as the result of a search for another missing person that also started on Thursday. In April last year, six Indian nationals were rescued from the freezing St Regis River in the same area.
The Police Marine unit continued to search the area with assistance from the Coast Guard and the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department. The police said that investigations into the case will proceed with the assistance of the Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police force, and the Ontario Provincial Police air support units.
Akwesasne police detained four “foreign nationals” attempting to enter the U.S. illegally. “We have seen an increase of people passing through Akwesasne gaining entry into the U.S.,” O’Brien said. Before that, in April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St. Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.
In another instance of people trying to sneak into the US illegally gone wrong, four members of a family from Gujarat were found dead due to exposure to extreme winter conditions in the province of Manitoba, near the US border. In the tragedy that occurred on January 19, 39-year-old Jagdishkumar Baldevbhai Patel, his wife 37-year-old Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, their daughter 11-year-old Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, and son, three-year-old Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel. They too were trying to illegally cross the border from Canada into the US.