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Home / World

British hikers Aziz Ziriat and Samuel Harris missing in Dolomites, filmed plans to scale 3343m mountains

By Max Stephens
Daily Telegraph UK·
7 Jan, 2025 07:36 PM4 mins to read

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Te Pāti Māori calls for deadline extension for Treaty Principles Bill submissions and Canada's Liberal Party in need of new leader following Justin Trudeau's resignation.
  • Two British hikers, Aziz Ziriat and Samuel Harris, are missing in the Dolomites, Italy.
  • Italian authorities have launched a search, but snowfall is hindering efforts to reach the area.
  • Friends and family are assisting the search as police are tracing their devices.

Two British hikers who have gone missing in the Dolomites, in northern Italy, shared footage of themselves discussing plans to scale 3343m mountains on the day of their disappearance, The Telegraph can reveal.

Aziz Ziriat, 36, and 35-year-old Samuel Harris, from London, were last heard from on New Year’s Day, when they sent messages home from the Trentino region.

Rebecca Dimmock, Ziriat’s girlfriend, said the pair were long-term friends “who have been on many hiking trips together before”. She said they had set off on the trek that day without their large backpacks.

Italian authorities have begun a search and rescue operation, but emergency services said recent snowfall had made it difficult to reach the area.

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Samuel Harris, 35 (left), and Aziz Ziriat have gone missing in the Dolomites. They were last heard from on January 1.
Samuel Harris, 35 (left), and Aziz Ziriat have gone missing in the Dolomites. They were last heard from on January 1.

Ziriat and Harris did not check in for their return flight on Monday. Their last known location was near a mountain hut called Casina Dosson, close to the town of Tione Di Trento, near Riva Del Garda, on Lake Garda.

A video of Ziriat preparing to hike up the mountain range on January 1 with Harris has been shared with The Telegraph.

In the 45-second-long clip, he can be seen filming the range he plans to scale and a stone shelter where the pair are believed to have stayed overnight.

Speaking into the camera, he says: “Happy New Year! Woken up to some delightful sunshine, blue skies. There has not been a cloud in the sky since we got here, which is slightly unnerving but also quite jokes.”

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Gesturing to the mountain range, he adds: “I want to attack this today, get up into the some of the 3000 bits which are up yonder.”

The camera then pans to the mountain lodge and Ziriat comments: “We just spent the night in this little bivacco [mountain shelter], absolute quality little set-up, a World War I bunker, it is a bit icy, I am only wearing my flip flops.

“Looking forward to a day scampering, we are not taking our packs today, for the last two days lugging up this God-forsaken valley, another day frolicking before schlepping over to the next valley.”

Ziriat is believed to have sent several messages and pictures home after the footage was taken. Several of his friends, including Dimmock, are understood to have flown from the UK to help with the search.

Italian police are trying to ascertain what make and model phones the pair used in order to help pinpoint their exact location.

Officers are understood to have asked relatives and friends when Ziriat and Harris had planned their trip, and whether they had any smart watches or GPS devices on their person at the time of their disappearance.

They are also determining whether the pair published their hiking routes on tracking websites such as Strava, Garmin, Suunto or Polar.

URGENT: Missing persons

Aziz Ziriat, a member of staff & his friend Sam Harris have been missing since 1st Jan, last heard from at 14:20 hiking in the Dolomites

They missed their return flight yesterday 06/01

If you know the area & can help dial 999 with ref CAD 0197/07 Jan25 pic.twitter.com/vtvNbW4gvE

— Palace for Life (@PalaceForLife) January 7, 2025

Ziriat is a charity worker with Palace for Life, Crystal Palace FC’s official charity. Palace issued an appeal on their social media channels for information that might help locate the pair.

The club said: “A member of the @‌PalaceForLife staff and his friend have been missing since 1st January in the Dolomites. If anyone knows the area, is able to support further or has any information that will help, please call 999 and reference CAD 0197/07 Jan25.”

Mustafa Suleyman, the chief executive of Microsoft’s AI division, also issued an appeal online on Tuesday, writing 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.”

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A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the families of two British nationals who are reported missing in northern Italy, and are in contact with the local authorities.”

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