Eight individuals found themselves in a perilous situation on Friday night near Hemmingford in Quebec’s Montérégie region as they ventured into Canada through irregular means. The group triggered alerts from U.S. border systems around 9:30 p.m. but proved difficult to locate immediately.
After an extensive search in the freezing cold, a breakthrough came when a man claiming to be there to pick up the group was apprehended by officers around 3:30 a.m. Not long after, seven of the eight migrants were discovered, with some displaying symptoms of hypothermia and frostbite.
The search for the final individual continued until 7:30 a.m., aided by the efforts of the Sûreté du Québec and RCMP drone teams. All eight individuals were rushed to the hospital for treatment and will undergo processing by the Canada Border Services Agency.
This incident follows a previous occurrence on Christmas day, where RCMP intercepted and deported 19 migrants of Haitian descent who had crossed into Canada through Quebec’s Havelock region. Authorities had previously emphasized the extreme dangers of attempting illegal border crossings, particularly during the harsh winter months when individuals are often ill-prepared for the cold.