Fears for two Britons missing in Italian mountains since New Year’s Day: Desperate search for charity worker, 36, and friend, 35, who disappeared while walking near Lake Garda

Two British men have been missing in Italy for almost a week after a hike in the mountains.

Aziz Ziriat, 36, and his friend Samuel Harris, 35, both from London, were hiking in the Dolomites in northeastern Italy on January 1 but have not been seen or heard from since.

Ziriat, who works for Crystal Palace’s Palace for Life foundation, and Harris missed their return flight to Britain on January 6.

Family and friends have launched an urgent appeal to find the friends. Both sent messages home from the Trentino region until January 1 at noon, but were unable to board their return flight.

Their last known location is believed to be near a hut called Casina Dosson, near the town of Tione Di Trento, near Riva del Garda, on Lake Garda.

Crystal Palace FC also asked for help locating their employee and Harris and shared a map of routes the two walkers could have taken.

“We are appealing to anyone who is familiar with the area and who can provide assistance or information to get in touch,” the club said in a statement today.

The club further posted descriptions of the Ziriat and Harris, including a photo of the clothing Harris was believed to be wearing.

Ziriat, who works for the Crystal Palace foundation Palace for Life, and Harris (pictured) missed their return flight to Britain yesterday

The club also shared descriptions of the Ziriat and Harris, including a photo of the clothing Harris was believed to be wearing

Ziriat, who is described as being 6ft 4in, was a student at the University of Brighton, while Harris, who is 6ft 1in tall, went to Oxford Brookes.

Both attended Teddington School in Teddington, south-west London.

Crystal Palace has asked fans to share photos and information of the two missing Britons on social media.

Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft’s AI division, also posted a call to find Ziriat and Harris on LinkedIn: ‘I urgently need your help! Two of my friends went missing while 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 Ziriat’s girlfriend will fly 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 Ziriat and Harris, but recent snowfall made it difficult for teams to reach the area.

Local authorities reportedly said 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 call 999 and quote CAD 0197/07 January 25.