THE body of a Brit hiker who vanished during a trek in Italy five months ago has now been found.
Aziz Ziriat, 36, went missing alongside Samuel Harris, 35, in the Italian Dolomites on New Year’s Eve.
Aziz Ziriat’s body has now been found
soccorso alpino trentinoRescue crews were seen working to try and find the hikers in Italy[/caption]
PAAziz Ziriat, 36, went missing alongside Samuel Harris, 35[/caption]
His body was found today during a rescue search, which was launched back in January after he disappeared.
The Trentino Alpine along with Speleological Rescue team have released a statement saying they are now recovering Aziz’s remains.
His family have been informed of the discovery, according to the mountain rescue organisation.
Aziz worked for Crystal Palace FC’s official Palace For Life charity.
He went on a New Year’s trek with pal Harris, who was found dead back in January, with his body covered under deep layers of snow.
The friends were known to have been near the town of Tione Di Trento, Lake Garda, before they went missing.
The pair failed to get on their flight back home on January 6, and they had stopped answering their phones.
Aziz’s mobile phone, card and glasses were all discovered close to Harris’ body, but no sign of him was found.
Family and friends of the pair flew out to the Italian region to help with the rescue efforts.
The last known location of the duo was near a mountain hut called Casina Dosson, close to the town of Tione Di Trento.
Their families later revealed the men planned to go between huts in the mountain range for a special New Year’s hike.
Video shared with The Telegraph showed Aziz preparing to hike the mountain range with Sam before the fatal climb.
In the clip, he films the mountain range as well as a stone shelter where the friends are believed to have stayed overnight.
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.”
He adds: “I want to attack this today, get up into some of the 3,000 bits which are up yonder.
“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.”
Rebecca Dimmock, the girlfriend of Aziz, called the pair “experienced hikers”.
She revealed she last spoke to her boyfriend on New Year’s Day – shortly after the video was recorded, according to BBC reports.
Rebecca said: “He said his phone was about to die but he would write back to me properly soon.
“I know they made it to the hut, and they were drinking red wine, but he said it was freezing.”
AlamyClimbers seen at the Italian Dolomites[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
