NEW DELHI – The family that died crossing the Manitoba-Minnesota border in a blizzard were from Dingucha, a village of 3,000 people in the west India state of Gujarat. according to local news reports. The four were:
> Jagdish Patel, 35, the father.
> Vaishali Patel, 33, his wife,
> Vihanga, Patel, 12, their daughter.
> Dharmik {Patel, 3. The f their son.
In Dingucha they were from a large and supportive family, the local news reports said. The father was a teacher and owned farmland. They left their village just days before being dying in the Manitoba blizzard. Investigators say all those in the group had a similar travel agenda from India. Each had a visitor’s visa. In Manitoba they paid $1,000 to a smuggling agent to get them to the United States, investigators said.
Family portrait. FThe Patels were from the large state of Gujarat. The state traditionally has low unemployment and is one of the most industrially developed states of India. It is a manufacturing hub. The indigenous and official language is Guajarati.