Four Indians drown attempting to cross into US from Canada

Local police believe they drowned on Wednesday night after their boat capsized in the river amid bad weather. The other four who were killed were also travelling in the same boat.
File photo of search operation in St Lawrence River in Akwesasne | AP
File photo of search operation in St Lawrence River in Akwesasne | AP

AHMEDABAD:  Members of an Indian family from Gujarat are among eight killed while attempting to cross the St Lawrence River by boat to enter the United States illegally from Canada. Bodies of Praveenbhai Chaudhary (50), his son Meet Chaudhary (20), and daughter Vidhi Chaudhary (24)  were recovered, Canadian police said. Dakshaben Chaudhary (45) is the fourth Indian victim to be identified. They were from the Mehsana district of Gujarat.

Local police believe they drowned on Wednesday night after their boat capsized in the river amid bad weather. The other four who were killed were also travelling in the same boat. In an interview with local media, Jasu Choudhary, a relative of Praveenbhai said, “Two months ago, my brother went to Canada on a visitor visa with the family. We learned this morning that an Indian family drowned while illegally entering America by boat. We called our other relatives in Canada and discovered that among those killed are my brother and his family members.”

Mehsana Superintendent of Police (SP) Achal Tyagi said he has received information that four Indians have died. “We have come to know that they are all from Mehsana,” he said, adding that there has been no official communication yet.  A Mehsana district administration official said Malekpura village residents approached the collector with a request to make arrangements for the bodies of the four deceased to be brought back to their native village. 

Calling it a shocking incident, former state home minister Vipul Chaudhary told reporters the government should make arrangements for the bodies of the victims to be brought back here.

Romanians also among dead
At least two of the others killed are of Romanian descent. Canadian Police are probing the exact circumstances of their deaths, local media reported

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