The identities of people of Indian descent whose bodies were found in marshland have not been released by the Canadian police, pending identification and notification of next of kin, a media report said on Sunday, as circumstances of their deaths continued to be investigated.

Bodies of eight persons were found on Friday in a marsh on the riverbank near Akwesasne, a community which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state. Police say the deceased — believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent — were trying to cross into the US from Canada. Among them were two children under the age of three, both Canadian citizens.