Migrants risk death crossing Alps to reach France

Snow covers the beginning of a mountain pass from where migrants try to cross from Italy into France, near the town of Bardonecchia in northern Italy, December 19, 2017. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola

BARDONECCHIA, Italy (Reuters) - It took Abdullhai almost three years to get from his home in Guinea to a rocky, snow-covered Alpine mountain pass in the dead of winter, for what he hopes will be the final stage of his journey into France.

The terrain is steep and dangerous and he and a group of five other migrants face risks ranging from losing their footing on steep drops, being struck by falling rocks or succumbing to the -9C (15°F) temperatures in clothing ill-suited to the terrain.