Regulations lag pace of climate change. Air pollution kills 860,000 people each year
The identities of people of Indian descent whose bodies were found in marshland have not been released by the Canadian police, pending identification and notification of next of kin, a media report said on Sunday, as the circumstances of their deaths continued to be investigated.
Bodies of eight persons were found on Friday in a marsh on the riverbank near Akwesasne, a community which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.
Police say the deceased — believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent — were trying to cross into the US from Canada. Among them were two children under the age of three, both Canadian citizens.
Akwesasne officials have named two family members of Romanian descent — including a man holding his two children's passports — who were among eight bodies recovered from the St. Lawrence River, near the Quebec-Ontario border, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported.
The identities of other people recovered of Indian descent have not been released, pending identification and notification of next of kin, the Montreal Gazette newspaper reported.
“The circumstances of their deaths continue to be investigated,” the paper added.
On Saturday, police said that four Indian nationals, who they also believed was a family attempting to cross into the US, have not been identified, the CBC reported.
Akwesasne police are working with Immigration Canada to assist with identifying the victims and notifying the next of kin. They are also increasing surveillance on the river.
Valene Gray, the owner of the Three Feathers Café, said the community has been shaken by the tragedy.
"In the past couple of days, it's been very heavy, very emotional, customers coming in and they're sad," Gray said on Saturday. "You could tell they were upset, you could tell they were hurting." Wanting to offer support to her community, Gray said it was an honour to be hired by the Mohawk council to make sure all of the volunteer searchers were fed. She said the café has provided breakfast sandwiches for the past two days and supper on Friday.
Akwesasne police say there have been 48 incidents of people trying to cross illegally into Canada or into the United States through the Mohawk territory since January, and most of them have been of Indian or Romanian descent.
In January 2022, the bodies of four Indians, including a baby, were found frozen in Manitoba near the Canada-US border. In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St. Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.
In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.
ALSO READ:
Regulations lag pace of climate change. Air pollution kills 860,000 people each year
The two Muslim neighbours were involved in unprecedented tit-for-tat military strikes this year
Attacks online include insults, sexist and sexual comments, and physical threats, including death threats to journalists and their families
AI tools imitating human intelligence are widely used in newsrooms around the world to transcribe sound files, summarise texts and translate
Of these, 90 families, or 468 people, returned over the Torkham crossing, according to the Taliban-led Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation
It allows American spy agencies to surveil foreigners abroad using data drawn from US digital infrastructure such as internet service providers
The incident happened shortly after jury selection for the hush-money trial was completed
The neighbourhood around the consulate was closed after the 60-year-old entered the premises, claiming to be armed with an explosive vest