AHMEDABAD: Ten days after four people were found frozen to death in a Manitoba field near the US-Canada border, the authorities identified them as a family from Kalol tehsil of Gandhinagar district in Gujarat.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) found Jagdish Patel (39), Vaishali Jagdish Patel (37), Vihangi Jagdish Patel (11) and three-year-old Dharmik Jagdish Patel, all from the same family, dead near Emerson, Manitoba, approximately 12 metres from the Canada/US border on January 19.
RCMP crosschecked their identities with Canada’s High Commission of India who confirmed them. RCMP superintendent Rob Hill told reporters that the Patel family first arrived in Canada on 12 January, on a flight to Toronto. From there, they made way west to Manitoba, before traveling to Emerson on or around 18 January. Their bodies were found the next night.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the Indian missions in Canada and the US were following the case closely. ‘‘The Canadian authorities have confirmed that all four who perished were Indian nationals who belonged to one family. The next of kin of the deceased have now been informed,” the MEA said in a statement. “Our High Commission in Ottawa and our Consulate General in Toronto are working closely with the Canadian authorities on all aspects of the investigation and providing consular services to the family of the deceased.”
Meanwhile, one of the family members of the Patel family said: “It has been confirmed that the bodies of Jagidash, his wife and children are from our own family. After discussions with many of our family members, we have finally decided not to bring the bodies to India. The funeral will be held
in Canada.”