A close friend of the British hiker who has been missing in the Dolomites since New Year’s Day said it was “accepted it’s not good news” as the search continues.
London residents Sam Harris, 35, and Aziz Gilliat, 36, last texted home on January 1st, but they missed their flight home on January 6th. I didn’t check in. Friends and relatives traveled to Italy.
Harris’ body was found buried in deep snow on Wednesday at the foot of a cliff some 2,600 meters (8,500 feet) above sea level near Conca Pass in Adamello Natural Park.
Joe Stone, a university friend of Mr Gilliat, told the PA media news agency that authorities were “doing everything” to find the 36-year-old, who has been missing for 10 days. Ta.
“There is a recognition among us that this is not going to be good news,” Stone said Saturday. “But it would be really nice to find him and get him out of this predicament.”
Their last known location was in a mountain hut called Casina Dosson, near the town of Tione di Trento, near Riva del Garda on Lake Garda.
Italy’s National Alpine Cliff and Cave Rescue Team announced on Saturday that the search for Gilliat, who works for Crystal Palace FC’s charity organization Palace for Life, had resumed in the light of day.
About 40 rescue workers were airlifted to higher ground and were digging through the snow to search for Gilliat in the area where Harris’ body was found.
On Wednesday, mountain rescue teams announced that ground teams had found a “sad corpse buried under snow” in the Passo di Conca area.
Rescue teams were searching the area after tracking “the phone calls of one of the two climbers.”
They said, “The circumstances of the accident are still being investigated by police, but it is possible that the climber fell from a height.”
Palace for Life posted on X: “We are aware of reports that the body of Sam Harris has been recovered.
“We are shocked to hear of this death and send our thoughts and deepest condolences to his loved ones.
“No further information regarding Aziz’s whereabouts is available at this time.”
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Department spokesperson said on Friday: “We are supporting the family of a British man who died in northern Italy and are liaising with local authorities.”
