Police in the Mohawk community of Akwesasne, which spans Quebec, Ontario and upstate New York, said they found six bodies in the waters of the St. Lawrence River late Thursday afternoon. According to our sources, the victims are migrants.
At this time, we don’t know whether, based on Radio-Canada’s findings, these people intended to go to the United States or Canada.
In a brief statement published on their Facebook page, the police department said a first body was found around 5 p.m. in a swampy area in part of Quebec territory.
The bodies were discovered by a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter. One of the victims, a child, was carrying a Canadian passport.
Police are trying to identify the victims and determine their status in Canada, the police department said.
The exact cause of death has yet to be determined. The Police Marine Unit, Coast Guard and community volunteer firefighters continue their search.
The gruesome discovery coincides with a search sparked by the disappearance of a community member on Thursday. It is not known whether there is a connection between these two events.
Akwesasne Police have requested the assistance of the Ontario Provincial Police and the Sûreté du Québec to continue the investigation.
With information from Pascal Robidas