Ukrainian Family Stranded In Snow

Bordoli said the family had lived for many years in Hungary, where they had unsuccessfully sought asylum, before moving to Italy.

A Ukrainian mother and her five children were recovering on Monday after getting lost in the mountains while trying to cross from Italy to Switzerland, some clad only in their socks, police said.

The family, whose children are between nine and 21 years old, was picked up as darkness fell on Sunday night by emergency services, who took them to hospital by helicopter, police spokesman Marco Bordoli said.

"They were not well dressed for the mountains. One of the children was just wearing socks in the snow," he said, adding that the snow lay around one metre (three feet) deep in the area.

The family had sought to cross into Switzerland by Monte Lema, a 1,600 metre (5,250 foot) peak that marks the frontier between lakes Lugano and Maggiore.

When they ran into difficulties, the mother sent a distress call on a radio transmitter she had with her, which was picked up by an Italian amateur radio ham.

Three of the children were hospitalised with hypothermia, while the others are in a reception centre for asylum seekers.

Bordoli said the family had lived for many years in Hungary, where they had unsuccessfully sought asylum, before moving to Italy.