Friend shares fears as search resumes for hiker

A close friend of a British mountaineer missing for 10 days in the Dolomites, an Italian mountain range, has said there is an "acceptance that it won't be good news" as the search to find him continues.

Aziz Ziriat, 36, and Samuel Harris, 35, from London, had not been heard from since 1 January. The alarm was raised after the pair failed to check into their flight home on 6 January.

On Wednesday, rescue teams announced they had found a body, believed to be that of Mr Harris, in the Passo di Conca area "unfortunately lifeless, buried under the snow".

At first light on Saturday, more than 80 personnel from Alpine Rescue, Guardia di Finanza Rescue, Carabinieri and the local fire brigade resumed the search.

In a statement, Alpine Rescue said about 40 rescuers had been airlifted to altitude to search the same area where Mr Harris's body was found.

Joe Stone, a university friend of Mr Ziriat, said authorities were "trying everything" to find him.

"There is an acceptance among us that it's not going to be good news," Mr Stone said on Saturday.

"But it would be really nice to find him and be put out of this limbo."

The pair's last known location had been a mountain hut called Casina Dosson, close to the town of Tione Di Trento, near Riva Del Garda on Lake Garda.

In a statement on Friday, the Italian rescue services said the search where the body believed to be Mr Harris was found had not led to the discovery of Mr Ziriat.

Thick fog forced the search operation to stop on Friday afternoon.

Mr Harris was found on Wednesday under snow at the foot of a rock face on Carè Alto mountain near Trento.

His cause of death is unclear but one possible reason given by authorities was a fall "from above".

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