Bodies of 8 migrants, including Indians, found near Canada border
Toronto: Eight people, including members of an Indian family, drowned in the St Lawrence River while trying to enter the US illegally from Canada.
Police found the bodies near a capsized boat in an area of Quebec during an aerial search with the Canadian Coast Guard on Thursday morning, according to local media news.
Lee-Ann O’Brien, deputy chief of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, told a news conference on Friday, “The six men are believed to be from two families. “All of them are believed to be trying to enter the US illegally from Canada,” the official said.
Eight people, including two children, were found dead in a swamp near the Canada-US border after trying to enter the United States illegally, police said on Friday.
Their bodies were found near the sunken boat of a missing man from the Akwesasne Mohawk community, officials said. “A total of eight bodies have now been recovered from the water,” local police chief Sean Dullude told a news conference.
The Mohawk tribal region is spread across the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and the US state of New York.
The capsized boat was described as “very small” due to bad weather conditions including rain, hailstorm and strong wind. The first body was found during an aerial search of the area.
Authorities are awaiting the results of the post-mortem and toxicology test to ascertain the cause of death. Speaking to reporters, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “Our thoughts are with the families of those killed, it is a heartbreaking situation.”
