Gujarati family Freeze to Death at US-Canada Border
A Gujarati family froze to death while crossing the USA-Canada border. Watch our latest video for more details.
Jagdish Patel, 35, his wife, Vaishali, 33, their daughter Vihanga, 12, and son Dharmik, 3 had all left Dingucha, a small village of 3,000 people in the state of Gujarat. They left the village in the second week of January and flew to Canada. Their aim was to enter the USA illegally as they were not getting visas. However, in a shocking incident, the entire family froze to death at the USA-Canada border. The news shocked the world. Let me tell you what happened. The family landed in Emmerson, Manitoba in Cannada.
They paid money to smugglers to help them cross the border to Cannada. On 19th January 2022, the smugglers dropped them and another group of Gujarati people some distance away from the border. Not a single person knew to speak English. The smugglers gave everyone new winter coats with fur-trimmed hoods, gloves, ski masks and insulated rubber boots, all of it black. They told the group of Gujarati people to start walking towards the border and once they reached the border another smuggler would pick them up and help them enter the USA.
The temperature was around -35C. There was a strong wind and heavy snow. They had started walking at around 9:30 pm. It was fully dark. Somewhere along the route, the family of 4 got separated from the group. The remaining group of people continued walking for 11 hours and had entered the USA border but they were caught by the U.S. Border Patrol officers. However, the family of 4 were then found by the Canadian authorities. They were all frozen to death. The Canadian authorities then informed the Indian government who informed their family in their village. You all may think the family was poor and wanted to go to the USA for a better life. They were from a large and supportive family with some assets. The father Jagdish Patel worked as a teacher and owned farmland. An online prayer service for the Patel family was held by about 250 people from Gujarat who are living in Canada. It was organised by Hemant Shah in Winnipeg. He said, “What has happened is shocking. We could not believe it. With the weather now in Winnipeg, we don’t dare go out. Even thinking about the pain they might have experienced in freezing cold temperatures gives us goosebumps.” The USA & Canadian authorities are now investigating the matter and suspect that there could be a huge smuggling racket to help people enter the USA illegally.
