Saudi Arabia and India agree to study feasibility of establishing power grid    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR5.9 billion net profit after Zakat and Income Tax for YTD Q3    Economy minister emphasizes global partnerships to address pressing challenges Private investments in non-oil sector soar 70%    Saudi Arabia's GDP grows 2.8% in Q3, driven by non-oil sectors    PIF, HKMA sign MoU to establish $1 billion investment fund    Israeli soldiers forced Palestinian men to take off clothes as they evacuated war-torn Jabalya    North Korea fires suspected intercontinental missile    India celebrates Diwali, the festival of lights    'It was like a tsunami': Spaniards recount horror of deadly floods    Bahrain Crown Prince receives Saudi Interior Minister    In-person classes will remain suspended in Jeddah, Rabigh and Khulais schools on Thursday    HR Ministry takes penal action against 568 violators of Domestic Workers' Regulation    Derby Week makes its debut in the Roshn Saudi League    Al Nassr eliminated from King's Cup after a defeat to Al Taawoun    Teri Garr, Young Frankenstein and Tootsie star, dies at 79    Othman Al Omeir receives Legacy of Change Medal at the UK Parliament for advocacy in media    Neymar joins Saudi fashion trend, donning traditional attire at Al Hilal match    Indonesia Days event celebrates cultural diversity at Al Suwaidi Park    Saudi Football Federation reappoints Hervé Renard to lead national team    Tarzan star Ron Ely dies aged 86    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Family who died in freezing cold by US-Canada border identified
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 28 - 01 - 2022

Canadian authorities believe the deaths of four Indian nationals found steps away from the Canada-US border are connected to a human smuggling scheme.
Jagdish Patel, 39, Vaishailben Patel, 37, and their children Vihangi, 11, and Dharkmik, 3, died from exposure due to the frigid cold near Manitoba, Canada.
Temperatures dropped to -35C (-31F) on the night the Patel family attempted to cross into the US on foot.
The family was found in a field north of the border on 19 January.
Their identities were announced by Canada's High Commission of India and later confirmed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, RCMP superintendent Rob Hill said the Patel family first arrived in Canada on 12 January, on a flight to Toronto. From there, they made their way west to Manitoba, before travelling to Emerson - a border town - on or around 18 January. Their bodies were found the next night.
No vehicle was found near the Canada-US border in Emerson, suggesting that someone drove the Patel family to a drop-off point before they began their journey on foot.
"This is an extended period of time for a family who is unfamiliar with Canada to be travelling across the country", Hill said. It is believed that someone may have facilitated the family's travel.
The RCMP would not comment on whether the Patels' case was connected to a group of seven other Indian nationals also found by border agents on the evening of 19 January. Steve Shand, a 47-year-old Florida resident, has been charged with human smuggling after authorities found him driving a 15-person van along the border, on the same night the Patels were found. Mr Shand had two Indian nationals as passengers in his car, and cases of food and water in his boot.
The deaths of the Patel family have rocked the Indian community in Manitoba.
"There's a common sense of feeling guilty, like something has gone wrong," Ramandeep Grewal, president of the India Association of Manitoba, told the BBC.
Questions remain as to why the Patel family set out on foot in the dark, in Canada's punishing winter weather.
Grewal said he heard rumours the family walked for 11 hours. "You don't expose yourself to that degree of cold for minutes, let alone hours," he said.
Such questions have consumed Indian communities in Winnipeg, said Hemant Shah, an Indian ex-pat, who organized a virtual prayer for the Patel family this week.
"There are lots of Patel families here, lots of Indo-Canadians," he said. "Everybody's talking, making their own theories."
While perilous border crossings have become typical to the United States' southern border, this type of journey is less common from the north.
"I've never seen this in Canada," Shah said. "This is unheard of."
The RCMP has launched an "extensive" investigation into how the Patels made their way to Canada, co-ordinating with the US and India. It is so far unknown if the Patels had family in Canada or the US.
A special team led by a senior Indian consular officer was dispatched to Manitoba to help Canadian authorities with the investigation. The Consulate General of India in Toronto has been in touch with relatives to provide support.
Last week, a US Homeland Security official said they were also investigating the Patel case, alongside a "larger human smuggling operation of which [Steve] Shand is suspected of playing a part".
There had been three other recent incidents of human smuggling in December and January in the same location where Shand was apprehended, according to court documents.
The India Association's Grewal said he hopes other families contemplating a similar journey may now reconsider.
"If there's anybody else who's in the same boat, who's trying to cross... Don't go, don't listen to people who are telling you they can help." — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.