Photos: At the risk of death, migrants cross Alps to reach France

In the past three months, around 2,000 migrants have tried to cross the border between Italy and France, passing through the Alps defying bad weather conditions and low temperatures. From being imprisoned to tortured back home, these migrants find crossing the huge snow-capped Alps a far easier proposition.

Updated on: Jan 16, 2018 1:02 PM IST

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Abdullhai, 38, from Guinea, is helped by a friend as they try to cross part of the Alps mountain range from Italy into France. 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. (Siegfried Modola / Reuters)

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The terrain is steep and the group of five faced risks ranging from losing their footing on steep drops, being struck by falling rocks or succumbing to the -9C temperatures in ill-suited clothing. In a bid to evade increased border security at easier crossing points this group crossed into France in December. (Siegfried Modola / Reuters)

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Abdullhai, rests after crossing into France near the town of Nevache. In Guinea, he left behind his wife and three children, including a two-year-old whom he has never seen. “There is no work there and no future for my children. Here in Europe we can have a future. We can find work and live a life with some dignity. This is worth a try for me.” (Siegfried Modola / Reuters)

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If the migrants don’t succeed in the crossing, they are arrested by French police and brought back to Italy. The number of migrants making perilous journeys has fallen since over one million arrived in Europe from the Middle East and Africa in 2015. There were 171,635 arrivals by boat officially recorded in 2017, down from 363,504 in 2016. (Siegfried Modola / Reuters )

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Kamarra, 28 (L), from Guinea and other migrants warm up by a fire in a cave after crossing part of the Alps. “I was imprisoned and tortured in Libya for many months. I was forced to work for free. Just look at my scars,” he said, lifting his clothes to show marks on his body. (Siegfried Modola / Reuters)

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A man prays on a river bank after spending the night under a highway bypass from where migrants of mostly North African origin prepare to cross the Italian border into France, in the Mediterranean coastal town of Ventimiglia. (Siegfried Modola / Reuters)

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A migrant rests near a cave after crossing part of the Alps. The majority lack proper gear to face the dangerous hike in snowy mountains and Alpine rescuers both in Italy and France are at work to help them. The International Organisation for Migration estimates that 20,000 people have died in the Mediterranean itself while trying to reach Italy. (Siegfried Modola / Reuters)

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The crossings become more perilous with snowfall. Reuters spoke with three migrants, a 24-year-old Senegalese man, a 31-year-old from the Democratic Republic of Congo and a 37-year-old from Pakistan attempting the trek in January. They managed to cross the border, but gave up exhausted and despondent, and were returned to Italy. (Siegfried Modola / Reuters)

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Migrants mostly from the Darfur region of western Sudan warm up by a fire under a highway bypass in Ventimiglia where they have been sheltering in preparation to attempt the crossing into France. (Siegfried Modola / Reuters)

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Abdullhai (L) and Abu (R) discuss their day having crossed part of the Alps mountain range from Italy into France, in the shelter centre of an organisation for migrants in the town of Briancon in southeastern France. (Siegfried Modola / Reuters)

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Aid volunteers from the Italian Catholic relief organisation Caritas give hot meals to migrants in Ventimiglia, Italy. In the past three months, around 1,500 and 2,000 migrants have tried to illegally cross the border into France, defying weather conditions and low temperatures. As Kamarra from Guinea sums his past, “After all that, crossing the Alps is not a big deal for me.” (Siegfried Modola / Reuters)