By Enyichukwu Enemanna
No fewer than eight people, including two children trying to cross illegally into the United States were on Friday, found dead in a marsh near the Canada-US border, the police had announced.
Their bodies were discovered near a capsized boat belonging to a missing man from the Akwesasne Mohawk community, officials reported.
“A total of eight bodies have now been recovered from the waters,” local police chief Shawn Dulude told a press conference.
Earlier, six people from two families, one of Romanian descent, with Canadian passports, the other from India, were discovered late Thursday, including one child under the age of three.
Two more people were reportedly found at the Friday press conference by Dulude, an infant “Canadian citizen of Romanian descent and one adult female believed to be an Indian national.”
Canadian authorities believe all were attempting to enter the United States illegally from Canada.
The Mohawk tribal territory, straddles the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and the US state of New York.
The capsized boat was described as “very small” for poor weather conditions including rain, sleet and strong wind.
“It was not a good time to be out on the water,” local deputy police chief Lee-Ann O’Brien told a news conference earlier in the day.
Dulude added that such crossings were sometimes facilitated by local people, particularly young people, who are lured by the money and exploited by criminal organizations.
Authorities are waiting on an autopsy, as well as toxicology test results to determine the cause of death.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking to reporters, said: “Our hearts go out to the families of the individuals who perished. This is a heartbreaking situation.”
