Eight people, including a Romanian family with two children, died Thursday after trying to cross the Saint Laurent River from Canada into the United States near Akvesasne, a community on the border between Quebec, Ontario and New York state. announced the authorities, quoted by the local press.

Another person – the owner of the boat, which allegedly transported the eight, is still considered missing.

Police pulled two more bodies from the river on Friday after discovering six bodies and an overturned boat on Thursday while searching for the boat’s owner, who was believed to be missing.

“Two more bodies were recovered: a child, a Canadian citizen of Romanian descent, and an adult woman, believed to be an Indian citizen,” said Shawn Dulude, chief of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service.

So far, the bodies of six adults and two children have been found: one under the age of 3 who had a Canadian passport and another, an infant, who was also a Canadian citizen, Sean Dulude said.

The two children, who belonged to a Romanian family, were probably born in Canada because they had Canadian passports.

The victims were found in a swamp on the bank of the river. According to the police, it is about an Indian and a Romanian family who were trying to get to the United States.

The identities of the dead have not yet been made public, their next of kin are expected to be notified.

Police are also awaiting the results of an autopsy and toxicology tests in Montreal to determine the exact cause of death.

Akwesasne resident Casey Oakes, 30, remains missing, police said. Oakes was last seen about 9:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday when he boarded a small light blue boat and left Cornwall Island. He was dressed in black, with a black mask and a black fez on his face.

Police found Oakes’ boat near the bodies, Akwesasne Mohawk deputy police chief Lee-Ann O’Brien said Friday morning. Akwesasne is located approximately 120 kilometers west of Montreal.

On the night from Wednesday to Thursday, a storm with strong winds and hail hit the region. “It was a bad time to be on the water,” O’Brien said.

“Anything could have caused this tragedy. It could have been a faulty boat, it could have been human error, and that will determine the investigation,” the policeman added.

Firefighters got the boat, and it hits the bottom, as if it had entered ice or stone. In addition, the boat was small and could not safely carry seven or eight people.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the tragedy “heartbreaking.”

“We need to properly understand what happened, how it happened, and do everything we can to minimize the likelihood of it happening again,” he said in Moncton, New Brunswick.