The body of a British man who went missing while hiking in the Italian Dolomites on New Year’s Day has been recovered, rescue teams confirmed on Saturday.
Aziz Ziriat, 36, from London, had been missing since 1 January after embarking on a hiking expedition in the Carè Alto mountain range in northern Italy with his friend, Sam Harris, 35.
Harris’s body was located shortly after the duo were reported missing, found buried in snow roughly one kilometre away from Ziriat’s final location.
On Saturday, a specialist team from the Trentino Alpine and Speleological Rescue Service resumed search operations, focusing on the area near where Harris had been discovered.
According to a statement, Ziriat’s remains were located by a rescue dog from Italy’s Alpine Guardia di Finanza unit, in a deep rocky crevice beneath thick snow at the base of the southern face of Carè Alto.
He was found nearly 1,000 metres from where Harris was discovered and 400 metres lower in altitude, highlighting the severe terrain and challenging conditions of the mountain. Ziriat’s body was subsequently airlifted to a sports field in Spiazzo Rendena.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has confirmed it is supporting Mr Ziriat’s family and is liaising with Italian authorities. “We are providing assistance to the family of a British national who died in northern Italy and remain in contact with local officials,” a spokesperson said.
The pair’s final known location was a remote mountain hut, Casina Dosson, near the town of Tione di Trento, in the Trentino region, close to Lake Garda.
When the hikers failed to return home or catch their scheduled flight on 6 January, a full-scale search operation was launched involving firefighters, mountain rescue volunteers, and aerial support.
Ziriat and Harris were described by friends as avid adventurers and experienced hikers. Their disappearance sparked widespread concern across hiking communities in both the UK and Italy, particularly given the treacherous winter conditions in the Dolomites at the time.
The discovery brings a tragic end to the months-long search and closure to the families of the two men.
