The four members of an Indian family that froze to death at the United States-Canada border on 19 January have been identified as residents of Dingucha village in Kalol tehsil of Gujarat's Gandhinagar, authorities informed on Friday, 28 January.
The four have been identified as Jagdish Patel (39), his wife Vaishali Patel (37), their daughter Vihangi Patel (11), and their son Dharmik Patel (3), the High Commission of India, Ottawa, said in a statement.
The family was part of a group of 11 individuals from Gujarat who were on their route to cross into the US as part of a human smuggling operation but froze to death in a failed crossing attempt during a blizzard.
'Next of Kin of Deceased Have Been Informed'
Earlier, police and relatives said the descriptions of the missing family members from Dingucha village matched those of the four Indians found frozen to death in Manitoba, Canada.
Jagdish used to work as a schoolteacher but later switched to running different businesses in Kalol city. The family's one-storey house in Dingucha is currently locked as Jagdish's father, Baldev Patel, had also left the village.
"Further to the report of the tragic death of four people, including an infant, whose bodies were recovered near the Canada US border in Manitoba on 19 January 2022, the Canadian authorities have confirmed the identities of the four deceased as Indian nationals," the High Commission of India in Ottawa said in a statement.
"The next of kin of the deceased have been informed. The Consulate General of India in Toronto is in touch with the family of the deceased and is providing all consular support. The High Commission offers its sincerest to the family and friends of the victims," the statement added
The authorities said that the family had travelled to Canada a fortnight ago on a visitor's visa.
"Canadian authorities have also, after medical examination, informed that based on the circumstances, the death of all the persons have been determined to be consistent with exposure to outdoor elements," the statement further said.
"The High Commission of India in Ottawa and our Consulate in Toronto continue to work closely with Canadian authorities on all aspects of the investigation into this incident. A special team, led by a senior consular officer from the Consulate General of India in Toronto, is camping in Manitoba to assist the ongoing investigation by Canadian agencies and to render any consular services for the victims," it added.
'Need to Ensure That Migration and Mobility Are Made Safe and Legal'
"On longer-term issues that this tragedy has brought into focus the need to ensure that migration and mobility are made safe and legal and that such tragedies don't recur. A number of ideas remain under discussion by India and Canada. For instance, to prevent and suppress irregular migration, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human being and to facilitate sustainable and circular mobility, India has proposed a comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (MMPA) to Canada which remains under the consideration of the Canadian government (sic)," the statement read.
The Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Thursday, 20 January, revealed that a family of four died from exposure to extreme cold weather conditions on the Canadian side of the United States (US)-Canada border on Wednesday, 19 January.
The law enforcement agencies later arrested a US-based man named Steve Shand for allegedly illegally trying to transport two undocumented Indian nationals in his vehicle.
In addition, the American authorities had detained five more undocumented Indians who had allegedly tried to infiltrate the border. The authorities said that these seven people and the four found dead were believed to be belonging to the same group.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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