Stranded migrants saved in Alps

The mother and her five children ran into difficulties while trying to cross illegally from Italy into Switzerland.

They were saved late on Sunday after a local radio enthusiast picked up their walkie-talkie distress signals.

"Some of the children were just wearing socks," Ticino regional police spokesman Marco Bordoli told the BBC.

Frostbite

The mother and her children, aged nine to 21, got stranded near Monte Lema - a 1,600m (5,250ft) mountain in the canton of Ticino, Mr Bordoli said.

They were saved because the mother was carrying a children's walkie-talkie - a device capable of sending radio signals, he said.

The family's calls for help in broken English were picked up by an Italian amateur radio fan, who then alerted the authorities.

Police found the asylum seekers at 1700 local time (1400 GMT), and they were then airlifted by helicopter.

Three members of the family were taken to hospital with frostbite.

Mr Bordoli said the Ukrainians had already asked for political asylum and that their case would be heard by the public prosecutor's office.

Before moving to Italy, the Ukrainians had reportedly lived for many years in Hungary, where they had unsuccessfully sought asylum.

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Ticino police (in Italian)
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