Search for Britons missing in Italian mountains

Samuel Harris, left, and Aziz Ziriat were last heard from on 1 January

A search and rescue operation is under way in the Dolomites in northern Italy for two British men who have gone missing on a hiking trip.

Aziz Ziriat, 36, and Samuel Harris, 35, from London, were last heard from on 1 January after sending messages home from the Trentino region. They did not check into their flight home on 6 January.

Alpine Rescue, Guardia di Finanza Rescue, Carabinieri and the local fire brigade are all involved in the search but due to recent snowfall teams say they are having difficulty reaching the area.

Rebecca Dimmock, Mr Ziriat's girlfriend, described the pair as "experienced hikers".

She told the BBC: "They wanted to do a New Year's hike. They wanted to go from hut to hut throughout the Dolomites.

"They were planning on going off-grid, so that's not unexpected at all.

"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."

Saf Suleyman and Rebecca Dimmock are flying to Italy to help coordinate the search

"But they also wanted to get into the huts and have fires and drink red wine because it was New Year's, which they did do, because he did message me at one point and he was carrying a log up the mountain to one of the huts," Ms Dimmock said.

She added: "I know they made it to the hut, and they were drinking red wine, but he said it was freezing."

'Phone died'

She said she last spoke to Mr Ziriat at about 10:00 GMT on New Year's Day.

"He sent some photos of the mountains and a couple of himself," she said.

"He said his phone was about to die but he would write back to me properly soon."

She said a few hours later, her messages were not being received by Mr Ziriat's phone.

"His phone had obviously died at that point, or he was out of range," she said.

Saf Suleyman, friend of the pair, said: "We are going to leave soon and fly to Italy and be on the ground and coordinate search efforts.

"We're not going to be going up the mountain, we want to be in the town coordinating with the local authorities."

Ms Dimmock added: "We have an idea of the route they were going. It would be good to check all those huts along that route, because they could literally be sitting in there snowed in, just waiting it out."

Authorities say it is unusual for hikers to go missing at this time of the year. Friends of the two men are flying out to the region from London this evening.

Appeals for information on the two men have been posted on social media, including by Crystal Palace Football Club, where Mr Ziriat works.

Mustafa Suleyman, the chief executive of Microsoft's AI division, posted 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."

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said they were supporting the families of two British nationals reported missing in northern Italy, and were in contact with the local authorities.