Two missing British men snapped footage revealing their plans to scale 3,000-metre Italian mountains on New Year’s Day before they vanished, MailOnline can reveal.
An urgent search is underway for Aziz Ziriat, 36, and Samuel Harris, 35, from London, who were last heard from on January 1 whilst on a hiking trip in the Dolomites.
Their last known location was near a mountain hut named Casina Dosson, close to the town of Tione Di Trento, near Lake Garda.
In a video, which has been shared with MailOnline, Aziz detailed what feats they will be taking on in the coming days – with plans to climb the 3,000-metre mountains.
He says the pair are going to leave their usual large packs at home.
The 36-year-old explained he and Samuel had been ‘lugging’ them up and down the valleys for the past two days of the trip.
Speaking into the camera as he stands outside the mountain hut in his flip-flops, Aziz 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.’
‘I want to attack this today, get up into the 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,’ he adds in an extended version of clip.
Aziz Ziriat (pictured), 36, and Sam Harris, 35, were hiking in the Dolomites mountains in northeastern Italy on January 1, but they haven’t been seen or heard from since
Aziz snapped a video before he and Samuel set off – and it’s been shared with MailOnline
An image of the mountain hut where the men where staying that was included in Aziz’s video
Aziz, who works for Crystal Palace’s foundation Palace for Life, and Samuel (pictured) missed their return flight to Britain yesterday
He also pans to the ‘World War One bunker’ they had stayed in before going missing.
The 36-year-old, who works for Crystal Palace’s foundation Palace for Life, is believed to have sent more messages home after the clip was filmed.
Italian authorities have been undertaking a frantic search and rescue operation to find the friends but recent snowfall has made it difficult to reach the area.
Aziz and Samuel were due to catch a flight home to the UK on January 6 but failed to turn up.
The pair are long-term friends having both attended Teddington School in Teddington in southwest London.
Aziz, who is described as being 6’3, was a student at the University of Brighton, while Samuel, who is 5’11, went to Oxford Brookes.
An urgent appeal has been launched by family and friends to find the pair with Crystal Palace FC also asking for help to locate their employee.
‘We are appealing for anyone familiar with the area, who can provide assistance or information, to get in touch,’ the club said in a statement today.
The club further posted descriptions of the Aziz and Samuel, including a picture of the clothes Samuel is believed to have been wearing.
A screenshot from the video that Aziz filmed before setting off on his hike
Your browser does not support iframes.
Descriptions have been shared of the Aziz and Samuel, including a picture of the clothes Sam is believed to have been wearing
Crystal Palace has asked fans to share pictures and information of the two missing Britons on social media.
Mustafa Suleyman, the chief executive of Microsoft’s AI division, also posted an appeal to find Aziz and Samuel 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 Riva del Garda, on Lake Garda.’
Friends of the two missing Britons and Aziz’s girlfriend are flying to the region from London tonight to help with the search.
Alpine Rescue, Guardia di Finanza Rescue, Carabinieri and the local fire brigade are involved in the search for Aziz and Samuel, but recent snowfall was making it difficult for teams to reach the area.
Local authorities reportedly said that it was unusual for hikers to go missing in the Dolomites in January.
If anyone has any information or knows the area and can help, please dial 999 and reference CAD 0197/07 Jan25.