Search launched for British men in Italy’s Dolomite mountains

A search and rescue operation is under way in the Dolomites in northern Italy for two British men who have gone missing on a hiking trip.

Aziz Ziriat, 36, and Samuel Harris, 35, from London, were last heard from on 1 January after sending messages home from the Trentino region. They did not check into their flight home on 6 January.

Alpine Rescue, Guardia di Finanza Rescue, Carabinieri and the local fire brigade are all involved in the search but due to recent snowfall teams say they are having difficulty reaching the area.

Rebecca Dimmock, Mr Ziriat’s girlfriend, described the pair as “experienced hikers”.

She told the BBC: “They wanted to do a New Year’s hike. They wanted to go from hut to hut throughout the Dolomites.

“They were planning on going off-grid, so that’s not unexpected at all.

“I think they wanted to have some nights where they were out in nature and in fresh air and sleeping in the wild. They have all the gear and they’ve done hikes before.

“But they also wanted to get into the huts and have fires and drink red wine because it was New Year’s, which they did do, because he did message me at one point and he was carrying a log up the mountain to one of the huts.”

Ms Dimmock added: “I know they made it to the hut, and they were drinking red wine, but he said it was freezing.”

Authorities say it is unusual for hikers to go missing at this time of the year. Friends of the two men are flying out to the region from London this evening.

Appeals for information on the two men have been posted on social media, including by Crystal Palace Football Club, where Mr Ziriat works.

Mustafa Suleyman, the chief executive of Microsoft’s AI division, posted on LinkedIn: “I urgently need your help! Two of my friends have gone missing whilst hiking in the Dolomites.

“We know they were near Casina Dosson Tione Di Trento, near Rival Del Garda, on Lake Garda.”