Indian family found dead after trying to illegally cross Canada-US border

Montreal Canada:

Six people from two families – one of Romanian origin with a Canadian passport, the other Indian – were found dead in a swamp near the Canada-US border after trying to cross illegally into the United States, announced Friday the police.

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

“The six people are said to be from two families, one of Romanian origin and the other an Indian citizen,” she said, adding that they were five adults and a child under the age of three years.

“All would have tried to enter the United States illegally from Canada,” she said.

O’Brien added that a second child whose passport was found on one of the bodies also appears to be missing and that 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.

Authorities are awaiting the autopsy as well as the results of toxicological tests to determine the cause of death.

O’Brien noted a recent “increase in the number of people crossing Akwesasne entering the United States”, with 48 crossings since the start of the year.

Once they land on the U.S. side, they are usually picked up ashore and transported by vehicle to New York state, she said.

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