MONTREAL: Authority in the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne in Canada said Friday that a child is missing after the bodies of six migrants of Indian and Romanian descent were pulled from a river straddling the Canada-US border.
Details were sketchy, and it was unclear how many Indians were among the victims trying to enter the United States illegally from Canada. Their bodies, including that of a child under three, were found Thursday in the St Lawrence River near Akwesasne, Quebec, said Lee-Ann O’Brien, deputy chief of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service.
“This is a heartbreaking situation, particularly given the child who was among them,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin said Trudeau She said. ap
Migrant deaths: we will do everything we can to stop it, he says PM Trudeau
We need to understand correctly what happened, how it happened and do everything we can to minimize the chances of this happening again,” Prime Minister Trudeau said. Police found a Canadian passport belonging to a child who disappeared with Romanian family, adding that the deceased child was also a Canadian citizen.
The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service said the first body was located around 5pm in a swamp. The area was further searched by a Marine Police unit with help from the Canadian Coast Guard and the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Air Support Units with the Quebec Provincial Police and Ontario Provincial Police are expected to assist in the investigation in the area. Autopsy and toxicology tests were ordered to determine the cause of the deaths.
Akwesasne police say there have been 48 incidents of people trying to enter Canada or the United States illegally through Mohawk territory since January, and most of them were of Indian or Romanian descent.
In February, Akwesasne Police reported increased human trafficking into Mohawk territory. Akwesasne straddles the Canada-US border and has territories in Quebec, Ontario, and upstate New York.
In January, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service said people involved in human trafficking had attempted to use shorelines along the St. Lawrence River in the area.
Trudeau and US President Joe Biden announced last week a plan to plug a loophole in an immigration deal that has allowed thousands of asylum-seeking migrants to move between the two countries along a back road linking the state of New York to Quebec.
The deal closing an illegal border crossing 105km east of Akwesasne went into effect on Saturday. O’Brien said he had nothing to do with closing the illegal Roxham Road crossing into Canada.
Details were sketchy, and it was unclear how many Indians were among the victims trying to enter the United States illegally from Canada. Their bodies, including that of a child under three, were found Thursday in the St Lawrence River near Akwesasne, Quebec, said Lee-Ann O’Brien, deputy chief of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service.
“This is a heartbreaking situation, particularly given the child who was among them,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin said Trudeau She said. ap
Migrant deaths: we will do everything we can to stop it, he says PM Trudeau
We need to understand correctly what happened, how it happened and do everything we can to minimize the chances of this happening again,” Prime Minister Trudeau said. Police found a Canadian passport belonging to a child who disappeared with Romanian family, adding that the deceased child was also a Canadian citizen.
The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service said the first body was located around 5pm in a swamp. The area was further searched by a Marine Police unit with help from the Canadian Coast Guard and the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Air Support Units with the Quebec Provincial Police and Ontario Provincial Police are expected to assist in the investigation in the area. Autopsy and toxicology tests were ordered to determine the cause of the deaths.
Akwesasne police say there have been 48 incidents of people trying to enter Canada or the United States illegally through Mohawk territory since January, and most of them were of Indian or Romanian descent.
In February, Akwesasne Police reported increased human trafficking into Mohawk territory. Akwesasne straddles the Canada-US border and has territories in Quebec, Ontario, and upstate New York.
In January, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service said people involved in human trafficking had attempted to use shorelines along the St. Lawrence River in the area.
Trudeau and US President Joe Biden announced last week a plan to plug a loophole in an immigration deal that has allowed thousands of asylum-seeking migrants to move between the two countries along a back road linking the state of New York to Quebec.
The deal closing an illegal border crossing 105km east of Akwesasne went into effect on Saturday. O’Brien said he had nothing to do with closing the illegal Roxham Road crossing into Canada.
