A search and rescue mission has been launched for two British men who went missing on New Year's Day on a hiking trip. Samuel Harris, 35, and Aziz Ziriat, 36, from London were last heard from on January 1 when they sent messages home. They have not been heard from since.
They failed to check in to their flight home on January 6. , Alpine Rescue, Guardia di Finanza Rescue, police and the local fire brigade are all involved in the search but, owing to recent snowfall, teams are having difficulty reaching the area. The two men have been described as experienced hikers who wanted to go off grid for the holidays.
Rebecca Dimmock, Ziriat’s girlfriend, : “They wanted to do a new year’s hike. They wanted to go from hut to hut throughout the Dolomites. "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." Dimmock explained that the pair had planned to stay in huts and “have fires and drink red wine”, and reported that Ziriat had messaged her as he was carrying a log up a mountain to a hut. "I know they made it to the hut, and they were drinking red wine, but he said it was freezing.
” Dimmock said that she last spoke to Aziz Ziriat at about 10:00 GMT on New Year’s Day, when he sent photos of the mountains and a couple of himself to her. He said his phone was about to die but that he’d be in touch again soon. A few hours later she reported that her messages .
