A FAMILY OF INDIANS WHO DIED OF FROSTBITE ALONG THE US-CANADA BORDER HAS BEEN RECOGNISED.

Authorities recognised the four members of an Indian family discovered dead near the US-Canada border a few days ago as residents of Dingucha village in Gandhinagar's Kalol tehsil, authorities announced on Friday morning.

The family was apparently attempting to unlawfully enter the United States when they died on January 19 in Manitoba, Canada, near the US-Canada border.

The four have been named as Jagdish Patel (39), his wife Vaishali Patel (37), their daughter Vihangi Patel (11), and their son Dharmik Patel, according to a statement made by the Indian High Commission in Ottawa (3).

Jagdish, the family's head, had previously worked as a schoolteacher before switching to owning several companies in Kalol. Jagdish's father, Baldev Patel, has also left the hamlet, thus the family's one-story house in Dingucha is locked. According to police, the family arrived in Canada a fortnight ago on a visitor's VISA.

The Indian Express reported on January 24 that a family of four from Dingucha village in Kalol had been missing for the last week after travelling from Dingucha to Canada, and that they matched the description of those found deceased in Canada.

"Further to the report of the terrible death of four persons, including a baby, whose remains were discovered near the Canada-US border in Manitoba on January 19, 2022, Canadian police have confirmed the four deceased as Indian nationals." The deceased's family members have been notified. The Indian Consulate General in Toronto is in contact with the deceased's family and is providing all consular assistance. "The High Commission expresses its heartfelt condolences to the victims' families and friends," the Indian High Commission in Ottawa said in a statement.

They died as a result of "exposure to outside factors," according to the statement.

"Canadian officials have also notified that, based on the circumstances, all of the people' deaths have been assessed to be compatible with exposure to external elements," according to the statement. On all areas of the inquiry into this occurrence, the High Commission of India in Ottawa and our Consulate in Toronto continue to engage closely with Canadian authorities. "A special team from the Consulate General of India in Toronto, led by a senior consular officer, is camping in Manitoba to help ongoing investigations by Canadian agencies and to provide any consular services for the victims," it added.

According to the statement, India and Canada are considering the "longer-term challenges" raised by the disaster.

"On longer-term concerns, this tragedy has highlighted the need to ensuring that migration and movement are made safe and lawful, and that tragedies like this do not occur again." India and Canada are still debating a variety of possibilities. India has proposed a comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (MMPA) to Canada, for example, to prevent and suppress irregular migration, migrant smuggling, and human trafficking, as well as to facilitate sustainable and circular mobility, which is still being considered by the Canadian government (sic)," the statement read.

The four victims were discovered frozen to death near Emerson, Canada, by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on January 19. On the same day, a US-based man named Steve Shand was arrested for allegedly illegally transporting two undocumented Indian nationals in his vehicle.

Inside the United States, American officials captured five more undocumented Indian nationals who had allegedly attempted to cross the border. The seven persons found alive and the four people found dead are thought to be from the same gang, according to officials.