Indian-origin family drowns while illegally crossing river to reach U.S. from Canada

A family of four from a village in Mehsana district, Gujaat, was among the eight people who drowned in a river on the Quebec-New York border recently, while they were illegally trying to enter the U.S. from Canada by boat.

The deceased include a couple and their two adult children. A total of eight (8) bodies have now been recovered. Canadian police have said the deceased, who were found on the banks of St Lawrence River near Akwesasne are believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent.

“A total of eight bodies have now been recovered in total. The circumstances surrounding the deaths continue to be investigated,” added the statement of Akwesasne Mohawk Police.

The deceased were from Chowdhary family of Maneckpura-Dabhala village of Vijapur taluka in Mehasana. The dead bodies identified include that of a family comprising a father, mother, son and daughter.

The deceased were identified as Chowdhary Pravinbhai Veljibhai, 50; Chowdhary Dakshaben Pravinbhai, 45; Chowdhary Vidhiben Pravinbhai, 23 and Chowdhary Mitkumar Pravinbhai, 20.

Their family in Mehsaa came to know about their death after checking the news on social media. On April 1, the news of the death of four Indians was featured on social media.

As per relatives of the family, for the last 15 days, they were not able to make any kind of contact with them after they moved to Toronto.

On Saturday, April 1, police identified two people of Romanian descent who were recovered from the river as 28-year-old Florin Iordache and 28-year-old Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache.

Police said Florin had two Canadian passports in his possession — one for his two-year-old child and another for his one-year-old infant whose bodies were also recovered.