Indian family among 6 dead during illegal river crossing on Canada-US border

Six people from two families, one Indian and the other of Romanian descent, were found dead in a marshy area of the St Lawrence River on the Canada-US border after trying to cross illegally by a small boat into the United States, local police said Friday.

Their bodies were discovered late Thursday near a capsized boat belonging to a missing man from the Akwesasne Mohawk community, local deputy police chief Lee-Ann O’Brien said at a news conference.

“The six individuals are believed to be from two families, one of Romanian descent and the other believed to be citizens of India. They include five adults and one child under the age of three,” she said.

“All are believed to have been attempting illegal entry into the US from Canada,” she said.

O’Brien also said that a second infant whose passport was recovered from one of the bodies appears to be missing and police dive teams were continuing to search.

The Mohawk tribal territory straddles the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and the US state of New York.

The first body was found during an aerial search of the area.

O’Brien noted a recent “increase in people passing through Akwesasne gaining entry into the US,” with 48 crossings since the start of the year.

Once landing on the US side, they are picked up and taken by vehicle into New York State, she explained.