6 rescued as boat sinks during alleged human smuggling incident

AKWESASNE, New York (WWNY) - An American is accused of trying to smuggle six people in a sinking boat into the United States.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, it happened on April 28 in the Saint Regis River in Akwesasne.

A boat containing seven people was seen taking on water. As officials arrived on the scene, they found the vessel almost completely submerged.

One person made his way to the shoreline. The Hogansburg-Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department deployed a boat to rescue the other six people in the water.

Due to the water temperature being just above freezing, all seven people were treated for hypothermia by medical professionals.

Upon their release, they were arrested by Border Patrol agents and transported to the Border Patrol Station for processing.

Six of the people, all ranging from ages 19 to 21 years old, were citizens of India. They were charged with improper entry by an alien.

The seventh person, an unidentified American citizen, was charged with alien smuggling, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each violation.

CBP said there were no life jackets or other safety equipment onboard the sinking boat.

U.S. Border Patrol agents were assisted by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, and the Hogansburg-Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department.

“Outstanding cooperation between law enforcement and rescue services prevented what could have been a horrific tragedy,” said Chief of Police Matthew Rourke of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department. “I emphasize that human smuggling is illegal and poses a significant danger to the Akwesasne community. We don’t know the intentions or vaccination status of smuggled individuals, but more importantly, the time and resources spent in a rescue effort unnecessarily risk the lives of our first responders and our already strained emergency response services.”

“I commend our Tribal partners for their diligent response and preventing what could’ve been a catastrophic situation,” said Massena Station’s Patrol Agent in Charge Wade Laughman, “human smuggling is not only a crime but extremely dangerous. Smugglers do not care about safety or human life; they only care about profits.”