Police sources in India have provided the names of three family members who were among eight people who died after trying to cross the St. Lawrence River Thursday into the United States near Akwesasne — a community that straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.
A source identified one woman as Vidhiben Pravinkumar Chaudhari, 24, and two men as Pravinbhai Veljibhai Chaudhari, 50, and Mitkumar Pravinbhai Chaudhari, 20. The next of kin in India have been notified, the source said.
Sources told CBC News that the three family members are from Gujarat — the same state in India as the family who died trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border in Manitoba in 2022.
The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service have said four Indian nationals who were recovered from the river are believed to be a family. The identity of the fourth Indian national is unconfirmed at this time.
Eight people were found in a marsh on the riverbank.
On Saturday, police identified two people of Romanian descent who were recovered from the river as 28-year-old Florin Iordache and 28-year-old Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache.
Police said Florin had two Canadian passports in his possession — one for his two-year-old child and another for his one-year-old infant whose bodies were also recovered.
Family members told CBC News Saturday they hadn’t heard from the family of four in a week and that they knew they were planning to come to the U.S. to join family in Orlando, Fla.
They said a close relative, who hasn’t seen the family in about six years, was supposed to pick them up in New York.
CBC News has spoken with a relative in Orlando who said Florin and his family had been in Canada for about a year and a half and were living in Toronto. They described Florin and his wife as a very happy and close family who loved their children.
The relative said the extended family was looking forward to being reunited and holding the children in their arms. They now want to find a way to repatriate their bodies to Romania.
On Sunday, Akwesasne police continued their search for a local man whose boat was found close to where the bodies were recovered from the water.
The service issued a statement saying a search would continue until sunset for 30-year-old Akwesasne resident Casey Oakes, whom officers have been seeking since Thursday.
Oakes was last seen Wednesday night boarding a small, light-blue vessel leaving Cornwall Island.
Akwesasne officials have not made any direct connection between Oakes and the deaths.