Police sources in India identify 3 people found dead in St. Lawrence River near Akwesasne
Akwesasne officials named 2 Romanian family members Saturday among 8 victims
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 sourceidentified one woman as Vidhiben Pravinkumar Chaudhari, 24, and two menasPravinbhai 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 fromGujarat the same state in India asthe family who died trying to cross the Canada-U.S. borderinManitobain 2022.
The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Servicehave 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 peoplewere found in a marsh on the riverbank.
On Saturday, police identified two people of Romanian descent who were recovered from the river as28-year-old Florin Iordache and 28-year-old Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache.
Police said Florin had two Canadian passports in his possession one for histwo-year-old child and another for his one-year-old infant whose bodies were also recovered.
Romanian man set to be deported
CBC News has learned that FlorinIordache had his asylum application to Canada refused and was set to be deported.
Public federal documents show that he had applied for apre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) one of the safeguards in place to ensure people in need of protection are not removedwhich had also been denied.
Documents show he was seeking a judicial review of the refusal for his PRRA.
"The pre-removal risk assessment is basically the last chance to persuadean immigration officer that the person has a continuing risk if returned to their country," said immigration lawyer Max Berger in an interview with CBC News.
Berger said a person's removal is put on holduntil there's a decision in the PRRA. Once the PRRA is refused, then theCanada Border Services Agency (CBSA)is able to remove or deport them.
"In this case, it's possible that CBSA was starting to make removal arrangements for this family or perhaps, they themselves saw the writing on the wall and thought they had better options in America," he said.
Family members told CBC News Saturday they hadn't heard from the family of fourin 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 beenin Canada for about a year and a half and wereliving 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 reunitedand holding the children in their arms. They now want to find a way to repatriate their bodiestoRomania.
Father Emanuel encaliuc, a priest at the All Saints Romanian Orthodox Church in Toronto, said he met the Iordache family last summer when they worshipped at the church and he baptized the two children.
"They were a young family, quiet, with young children, sometimes speaking with the members of our community but not getting too close," he said. "We could see they were faithful."
encaliuc said the church held a memorial service Sunday to pray for the Iordache family and their surviving family members.
"It's with great sadness to learn what happened," encaliuc said. "The whole community was saddened today ... in tears."
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 wouldcontinue until sunset for 30-year-old Akwesasne resident Casey Oakes, whom officers have been seeking since Thursday.
Oakes was last seen Wednesday nightboarding a small, light-blue vessel leaving Cornwall Island.
Akwesasne officials have not made any direct connectionbetween Oakes and the deaths.
'Tragic, emotional toll'
Luke Lezore, a local formerfirefighter, says thetragedy has left people in theKanien'keh:ka community reeling, including himself, as he's been forced to recall haunting memories about his time working with thefire department.
"We did a lot of searching like that and there was a lot of bodies we recovered from the river," he said. "It was a pretty tragic, emotional toll on you."
Authoritieshave said the territory's unique geography makes it a popular spot for human smugglers, with police making 48 separate interceptions this year. Most of those who try to enter the U.S. through the area are ofIndian and Romanian descent.
Lezore who referred to human smuggling in the area as a "judicial nightmare" says despite years of seeing the same types of deaths occur on the river, he doesn't believe anything will change.
"I think it's going to go on the way it is," he said. "People are still going to be coming across trying to get that money to bring people across."
with files from CBC's Katie Nicholson, Sarah Leavitt, Steven D'Souza, Karen Pauls and Ryan Jones
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