(UTV | COLOMBO) – Six Indian nationals were rescued last month by American law enforcement from a sinking boat on a freezing river along the US-Canada border in what appears to be a human smuggling operation gone awry.
The incident, which occurred on April 28, was reported as “suspicious activity” by Canadian law enforcement to the Akwesasne Mohawk police service in upstate New York, US.
They passed on information about a boat carrying “multiple subjects” on the Saint Regis river, travelling from Cornwall in the province of Ontario.
The information was shared with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal police department, who “observed the vessel taking on water and sinking in the Saint Regis River in Akwesasne”.
”Answering the call for assistance, border patrol agents and the HAVFD (Hogansburg-Akwesasne volunteer fire department) arrived on the scene to find the reported vessel almost entirely underwater,” according to a statement from the US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) agency.
One of the seven on board the sinking boat found his way to the shoreline, while the fire department rescued the other six, who appeared to be “distressed”.
“It was later determined there were no life jackets or other safety equipment on board the sinking boat,” the statement added.
Since the water temperature was just above freezing, all seven were “evaluated and treated” by medical professionals for hypothermia before being arrested by Border Patrol agents upon their release.
Six of those apprehended were identified as citizens of India, all aged between 19 and 21 years, and were charged with ‘Improper Entry by Alien’.
Canadian media reported at least one among them may only have arrived in the country a week before attempting the crossing. They were named in court documents as NA Patel, DH Patel, NE Patel, U Patel, S Patel and DA Patel.
The seventh was an American citizen, Brian Lazore, who has been charged with Alien Smuggling.
“Outstanding cooperation between law enforcement and rescue services prevented what could have been a horrific tragedy,” Matthew Rourke, chief of police of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal police department, said.
Wade Laughman, patrol agent-in-charge of the Canadian Border Patrol’s Massena Station said their Tribal partners’ “diligent response” prevented what “could’ve been a catastrophic situation,” adding that “human smuggling is not only a crime but extremely dangerous. Smugglers do not care about safety or human life, they only care about profits.”
The incident comes just over three months after four members of family from Gujarat were found dead after exposure to extreme winter conditions in the province of Manitoba, near the US border, in what was also a human smuggling operation gone wrong.
The tragedy in January claimed the lives of 39-year-old Jagdishkumar Baldevbhai Patel, his wife 37-year-old Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, their daughter 11-year-old Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, and son, three-year-old Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel.
They too were trying to illegally cross the border from Canada into the US.