A group of eight individuals who entered Canada irregularly on Friday night near Hemmingford in Quebec’s Montérégie region faced a dramatic rescue operation in harsh cold conditions.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) revealed that the group was initially detected by U.S. border systems at approximately 9:30 p.m. but proved challenging to locate. After several hours of search efforts in extreme cold, a breakthrough came around 3:30 a.m. when a man claiming to be there to retrieve the group was intercepted. Subsequently, seven of the eight migrants were found, with some suffering from hypothermia and frostbite.
Assistance from the Sûreté du Québec and RCMP drone teams facilitated the discovery of the final individual at 7:30 a.m. All eight individuals were promptly transported to a hospital and are set to undergo processing by the Canada Border Services Agency.
This recent rescue operation serves as a reminder of the risks associated with illegal border crossings, especially during winter. It follows a similar incident on Christmas day when RCMP intercepted and deported 19 Haitian migrants who had entered Canada through Quebec’s Havelock region.
Keyphrase: Quebec border crossing incidents
