Last month, American law enforcement rescued six Indian nationals from a sinking boat on a frigid river near the US-Canada border in what looks to be a botched people smuggling attempt.

The event, which happened on April 28, was reported to the Akwesasne Mohawk police agency in upstate New York as “strange conduct” by Canadian law enforcement. They sent on information of a boat travelling down the Saint Regis river from Cornwall, Ontario, carrying “several individuals.”

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department received the tip and “saw the watercraft take on water and sinking on the Saint Regis River near Akwesasne.”

According to a statement from the US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) agency, “border patrol agents and the HAVFD (Hogansburg-Akwesasne volunteer fire department) arrived on the site to discover the alleged vessel almost fully underwater.”

One of the seven people on board the sinking boat made his way to the beach, while the other six were saved by the fire service.

The statement continued, “It was later revealed there were no life jackets or other safety equipment on board the sinking boat.”

Because the water temperature was slightly above freezing, all seven were “examined and treated” for hypothermia by medical specialists before being apprehended by Border Patrol authorities.

Six of those detained were identified as Indian citizens between the ages of 19 and 21, and were charged with ‘Illegal Entry by Alien.’

According to Canadian media, at least one of them had just been in the nation for a week before making the trip. NA Patel, DH Patel, NE Patel, U Patel, S Patel, and DA Patel were identified in court records.

Brian Lazore, an American citizen, was the seventh person arrested and charged with alien smuggling.
“Excellent coordination between law enforcement and rescue agencies saved what might have been a tragic catastrophe,” said Matthew Rourke, chief of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal police department.

Jagdishkumar Baldevbhai Patel, 39, his wife Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, their daughter Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, 11, and their son Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, three, were killed in a car accident in January. They were also attempting to cross the border from Canada into the United States illegally.

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