'Went on vacation…' Gujarat family drowns while illegally entering US through Canada
2 min read . Updated: 03 Apr 2023, 04:42 PM IST
Premium- This is the second incident of people of the same family losing their life while crossing into the US through Canada
A family of four from the Mehsana district of Gujarat were among the eight people who died while trying to enter the United States (US) through the St Lawrence River on the border between US and Canada. The Mehsana police have confirmed the reports and are in contact with the relatives of the deceased family.
“The deceased include four of a family from Mehsana district. We are talking to their relatives and trying to gather more details," said Achal Tyagi, superintendent of police, Mehsana.
According to the officials, the dead are identified as Praveenbhai Chaudhary, a farmer, and his wife Dakshaben Chaudhary, their son Meet Chaudhary, and daughter Vidhi Chaudhary, officials said. The family hailed from Manekpura in Vijapur taluka of Mehsana district.
The relatives of the family informed that they went to Canada in February on a vacation.
“Two months ago, my brother, his wife, and two children went to Canada on a visitors’ visa. Yesterday morning I learned about the death of members of a family from India in Canada. I tried to contact my brother but was not able to do so. This caused suspicion that they were our family members," Jasubhai Chaudhary told reporters.
The officials said that the villagers approached them with a request to bring back their bodies and the state government is also informed about the incident.
This is the second incident of people of the same family losing their life while crossing into the US through Canada as in January 2022, another family from the Gandhinagar district of Gujarat froze to death in Canada while allegedly attempting to cross over illegally to the US.
Gujarat police launched an operation against such human traffickers and in December 2022, arrested the mastermind in the illegal immigration scam, Bobby alias Bharat Patel, from Ahmedabad. The police have informed that such agencies extort anywhere between ₹60 lakh to ₹1 crore for sending people illegally to the US through Mexico, Canada, and other routes.