Body of British hiker missing since January found by rescuers at foot of mountain

The body of a British hiker missing in northern Italy since January has been found, local rescuers have said.

Aziz Ziriat, 36, had been hiking in the Dolomites with his friend Sam Harris, 35, whose body was found buried under snow around a kilometre away, at the base of the southern face of the Carè Alto mountain, soon after they were reported missing.

Ziriat was discovered on Saturday, buried in snow beneath the same mountain by rescuers from the Trentino Alpine and Speleological Rescue team, the organisation said.

The team, which had been airlifted to the area in the morning, began searching near where Harris' body had been found.

They found nothing during the first phase of the search, but after descending along the rock face, a rescue dog, from a unit provided by the Italian Financial Police's Alpine rescue branch, detected his body "in a rocky crevice, hidden beneath layers of snow", at the foot of the southern face of Carè Alto, the rescue team said in a statement.

His remains were found "at the base of the cliffs, almost 1,000 metres away from Harris' initial location and 400 metres lower in altitude".

The body was airlifted to the nearby Spiazzo Rendena sports field, "where a funeral transport was waiting". The rescue team said his family "was immediately informed of the discovery".

The Londoners' last known location was at a mountain hut called Casina Dosson, in the San Valentino Valley, close to the town of Tione di Trento, near Riva del Garda on Lake Garda on 1 January

They had been hiking in the Carè Alto mountain area within the Adamello group over the New Year.

The alarm was raised when the pair missed their return flight on 6 January.

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Firefighters, the Italian Financial Police's Alpine Rescue team and the volunteer group, Nu.Vol. A, helped with the search.

In January, Mr Ziriat's family praised the work of search teams, saying "their commitment to finding Aziz has been outstanding".

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of a British national reported missing in Northern Italy and are in contact with the local authorities."