As per officials, six members of two families seeking to enter the US were found dead along the US-Canada border.
On Thursday, the six bodies were found in the St. Lawrence River close to Tsi Snaihne Akwesasne, Quebec.
A Mohawk Nation area called Akwesasne can be found in both Quebec and New York state.
According to an Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service spokeswoman, the six dead belonged to two families of migrants who were trying to enter the US.
The first body was pulled out of a marsh area along the St Lawrence River around 5.00pm on Thursday, police said.
‘The six individuals are believed to be from two families, one of Romanian descent and the other believed to be citizens of India,’ Akwesasne Police Deputy Chief Lee-Ann O’Brien said at a press conference on Friday.
The victims have not yet been identified, but O’Brien confirmed that one was a 3-year-old child from the Romanian family.
Investigators are still searching for another child, an infant from the same Romanian family, who they believe was also with the party trying to cross the St Lawrence.
The Akwesasne Mohawk Police said that additional personnel from dive teams, fire departments, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are aiding the search for the missing infant, and looking for any other possible victims.
Authorities said both children had Canadian passports, which were recovered with the bodies.
Their cause of death will be determined after post-mortem exams and toxicology reports are performed. Police are currently working with Immigration Canada to identify the victims and notify their next-of-kin.
Just days earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden reached an agreement to close Roxham Road, a border crossing between Quebec and New York.
The closure followed a record number of asylum seekers entering Canada through ‘unofficial’ entry points.
However, authorities said the deaths discovered on Tuesday were unrelated to the Roxham Road closure, which is located about 66 miles east of Akwesasne.
‘Right now what I can tell you is this has nothing to do with that closure,’ Deputy Chief O’Brien said. ‘These people were believed to be gaining entry into the U.S. It’s completely opposite.’