Six people from two families, one of Romanian descent with a Ukrainian passport and the other from India, have been found dead in a swamp near the Canada-United States border after attempting to illegally enter US territory, local police reported Friday.
The bodies were found on Thursday near an overturned boat belonging to a man reported missing from the Akwesasne Mohawk community.
“The six individuals are said to be from two families, one of Romanian descent and the other of Indian nationality,” Deputy Police Chief Lee-Ann O’Brien said at a news conference, adults and a child under three. “They are all believed to have tried to illegally enter the United States from Canada,” said O’Brien, who added that a second child whose passport had been taken from one of the bodies was also missing and wanted by diving teams from the police.
The boat was described as “too small” due to the bad weather conditions, including rain, hail and high winds. “It wasn’t a good time to be on the water,” said O’Brien.
The first body was found during aerial searches of the area. Authorities are awaiting an autopsy and the results of toxicology tests to determine the cause of death.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “this is a heartbreaking situation”, especially since a child was one of the victims.
The territory of the Mohawk tribe includes the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and the US state of New York.
O’Brien noted a recent “increase in the number of people traveling to the United States via Akwesasne”, with 48 crossings made since the start of the year. These people are usually picked up on land after crossing the border and transported by car to New York State.
Two other people were found near the border in recent months trying to illegally cross the border from the US into Canada.
During Joe Biden’s visit to the Canadian capital of Ottawa last week, the two countries reached an agreement to address the growing problem of undocumented migration.
Source: DN
