Canadian police announced Friday that the bodies of six people from two families, one Canadian-Romanian and the other Indian, were found in a swamp near the border with the United States that they had tried to enter illegally.

Their bodies were found Thursday near a capsized boat belonging to a still-missing man from the Aquisasne Aboriginal community, local deputy police chief Lee Ann O'Brien told a news conference.

"It appears that the six people belong to two families, one of Romanian origin and the other of Indian nationality," she said, adding that a child among the dead was less than three years old.

"We believe they were trying to enter the United States illegally from Canada," she added, confirming that they had arrived in Canada legally.

O'Brien explained that a second child from the Romanian family was not found, while his Canadian passport was found, and the police are continuing their search.

A helicopter and teams of divers from various police departments have been dispatched to the scene to assist in the search.

The authorities pointed out that the weather conditions were very bad, with rain, sleet and strong winds, when the "very small" boat tried to cross the border.

Local police said they had recently noticed "an increase in the number of people crossing Akwesasne to enter the US", with 48 crossings recorded since the start of the year.

Two people have already spent the year trying to enter the US illegally from Canada.

The two countries reached an agreement on tackling the growing problem of illegal immigration along their border during President Joe Biden's visit to Ottawa last week.

The agreement calls for undocumented asylum seekers who cross the border to be sent back to Canada, while Ottawa has committed to taking in more immigrants.

The deal has drawn heavy criticism from migrant rights groups, who believe it poses more dangers to those trying to cross the border illegally.