Fears for 2 Brits lacking within the Dolomites since New Year’s Day: Desperate seek for charity employee, 36, and good friend, 35, who vanished on hike in Italy
Two British men have been missing in Italy for nearly a week after a hike in the mountains.
Aziz Ziriat, 36, and his friend Samuel Harris, 35, both from London, were hiking in the Dolomites mountains in northeastern Italy on January 1, but they haven’t been seen or heard from since.
Ziriat, who works for Crystal Palace’s foundation Palace for Life, and Harris missed their return flight to Britain on January 6.
An urgent appeal to find the friends has been launched by family and friends. Both sent home messages from the Trentino region until midday on January 1, but they failed to board their return flight.
Their last known location is believed to be near a hut called Casina Dosson which is near the town Tione Di Trento, near Riva del Garda, on Lake Garda.
Crystal Palace FC also asked for help to locate their employee and Harris and shared a map with routes the two hikers could have taken.
‘We are appealing for anyone familiar with the area, who can provide assistance or information, to get in touch,’ the club said in a statement today.
The club further posted descriptions of the Ziriat and Harris, including a picture of the clothes Harris is believed to have been wearing.
Aziz Ziriat (pictured), 36, and Sam Harris, 35, were hiking in the Dolomites mountains in northeastern Italy on January 1, but they haven’t been seen or heard from since
Ziriat, who works for Crystal Palace’s foundation Palace for Life, and Harris (pictured) missed their return flight to Britain yesterday
The club also shared descriptions of the Ziriat and Harris, including a picture of the clothes Harris is believed to have been wearing
Ziriat, who is described as being 6’3, was a student at the University of Brighton, while Harris, who is 5’11, went to Oxford Brookes.
Both attended Teddington School in Teddington in southwest London.
Crystal Palace has asked fans to share pictures and information of the two missing Britons on social media.
Mustafa Suleyman, the chief executive of Microsoft’s AI division, also posted an appeal to find Ziriat and Harris 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 Riva del Garda, on Lake Garda.’
Friends of the two missing Britons and Ziriat’s girlfriend are flying to the region from London tonight to help with the search.
Alpine Rescue, Guardia di Finanza Rescue, Carabinieri and the local fire brigade are involved in the search for Ziriat and Harris, but recent snowfall was making it difficult for teams to reach the area.
Local authorities reportedly said that it was unusual for hikers to go missing in the Dolomites in January.
If anyone has any information or knows the area and can help, please dial 999 and reference CAD 0197/07 Jan25.
