Latest news with #rescue
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
Body of missing British hiker found in Dolomites
The body of a British hiker who went missing in the Dolomites on New Year's Day has been found by Italy's alpine rescue service. Aziz Ziriat, 36, was last heard from five months ago while hiking through the mountain range in the Trentino region of north Italy with his friend Sam Harris. Several Items and pieces of equipment belonging to 35-year-old Mr Harris were discovered by search and rescue teams in the days after the pair's disappearance. Rescuers retrieved Mr Harris's body on Jan 8 from deep snow at the foot of a cliff on the south face of Mount Carè Alto after tracing his whereabouts through his mobile phone. Mr Ziriat's body was found by a sniffer dog on Saturday in a rocky crevice covered by snow approximately one kilometre away from and 400 metres below where that of his long-term friend had been discovered. The rescue service said that an unsuccessful first search at an altitude of 2,600 metres had taken place that day in the same area where Mr Harris was found. The team had swept an entire gully for any sign of his companion. A second search was then undertaken, with the team carefully lowering themselves along the wall below the base of the slope of the site of the first search. Mr Ziriat's remains were transported to the Spiazzo Rendena sports field and collected by representatives of the coroner's office. His family was immediately informed of the discovery. He was a charity worker with Palace for Life, the official Crystal Palace FC charity, and had undertaken many hiking trips with Mr Harris, according to Rebecca Dimmock, Mr Ziriat's girlfriend, The pair had last been seen in the San Valentino Valley, near a mountain hut named Casina Dosson. In a video, filmed on the day of their disappearance and shared with The Telegraph, they had discussed plans to scale 3,000-metre high mountains. Heavy snowfall, fog, and sub-zero temperatures had repeatedly hampered rescuers' efforts to find Mr Ziriat, and they were often forced to curtail searches for their own safety. Since the body of Mr Harris was found, his family has raised more than £11,000 for Doctors without Borders, the alpine rescue service and St Mungo's Homeless Charity in his memory. One anonymous donor stated just over a week ago: 'To one of the most awesome human beings I had the privilege of knowing. RIP Sam, you were one of life's good ones.'
Sky News
4 hours ago
- General
- Sky News
Aziz Ziriat: Body of British hiker missing in northern Italy since January found by rescuers at Care Alto
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. Firefighters, the Italian Financial Police's Alpine Rescue team and the volunteer group, 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."
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Coastguard ‘overloaded with migrant rescues' send SOS to fishermen
Coastguards issued an appeal for fishing boats to assist a yacht and kayaks in trouble in the Channel because all Border Force vessels and lifeboats were overloaded rescuing migrants. The appeal was put out over the radio on Saturday as Border Force, the Coastguard, RNLI and French vessels dealt with an estimated 15 small boats packed with migrants attempting the perilous crossing. The contingency move provided breathing space for rescue services to be deployed at a later point to the kayaks and the yacht, which had issued an alert as it was taking on water. Saturday was expected to be a potential record day for 2025 after a week of bad weather, with initial estimates suggesting it could exceed the 828 migrants who crossed in one day earlier in May, the highest total so far this year. Two patrol aircraft, four out of the five Border Force vessels, seven French vessels, including Abeille Normandie, Ridens, Oyapock, and a warship, and two lifeboats were deployed on Saturday morning as hundreds of migrants launched their dinghies. Some 13,671 migrants have so far crossed the Channel this year, the highest number in the period since the first migrants arrived on small boats in 2018. It is 30 per cent up on last year. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has suggested that the number of crossings has surged because of the higher number of good weather 'red days' so far in 2025. The Telegraph revealed on Friday that France has so far intercepted fewer than 40 per cent of Channel migrants this year, the lowest proportion since the first small boats arrived, despite a £480 million funding deal with Britain to help stop crossings. Ministers believe that a series of legal changes in France and Germany will, however, stem the flow of migrants. The French have amended laws so police can stop boats at sea for the first time. It will enable police to use their own boats in shallow waters to take on people-smugglers carrying migrants in overloaded vessels. French ministers are also planning to restore the offence of an 'illegal stay' in France, which would allow the police to arrest migrants and smugglers before they attempt a crossing. Currently, migrants who attempt to cross the Channel are only considered to have committed an offence when they launch the boat. Germany – where many of the migrant boats are stored before being deployed to the French coast – is also tightening its law to make it easier to prosecute those helping to smuggle migrants to the UK. Facilitating people-smuggling is not technically illegal in Germany if it is to a third country outside the EU which, following Brexit, includes the UK. Under the new agreement, Germany has pledged to make the activity a clear criminal offence. A Home Office spokesman said: 'We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. 'The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice. 'That is why this Government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage. 'Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Boy rescued from Thames in stable condition as search for girl continues
A boy rescued from the River Thames is in a stable condition as the search for a missing girl continues, police said. A search was launched after two children got into trouble in the water near the Royal Terrace Pier, Gravesend, on Friday afternoon. Kent Police were called by the Port of London Authority at 1.46pm on Friday to 'concerns for the welfare of two children who had entered the river' at Royal Pier Road, Gravesend, a force spokesman said. Emergency services were called and a search was launched, leading to a boy being pulled out of the river. He was taken to a local hospital where his condition was 'not described to be life-threatening', police said. Kent Police's marine unit and the Coastguard resumed their search of the water and river bank on Saturday.
Telegraph
8 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
Coastguard ‘overloaded with migrant rescues' send SOS to fishermen
Coastguards issued an appeal for fishing boats to assist a yacht and kayaks in trouble in the Channel because all Border Force vessels and lifeboats were overloaded rescuing migrants. The appeal was put out over the radio on Saturday as Border Force, the Coastguard, RNLI and French vessels dealt with an estimated 15 small boats packed with migrants attempting the perilous crossing. The contingency move provided breathing space for rescue services to be deployed at a later point to the kayaks and the yacht, which had issued an alert as it was taking on water. Saturday was expected to be a potential record day for 2025 after a week of bad weather, with initial estimates suggesting it could exceed the 828 migrants who crossed in one day earlier in May, the highest total so far this year. Two patrol aircraft, four out of the five Border Force vessels, seven French vessels, including Abeille Normandie, Ridens, Oyapock, and a warship, and two lifeboats were deployed on Saturday morning as hundreds of migrants launched their dinghies. Some 13,671 migrants have so far crossed the Channel this year, the highest number in the period since the first migrants arrived on small boats in 2018. It is 30 per cent up on last year. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has suggested that the number of crossings has surged because of the higher number of good weather 'red days' so far in 2025. The Telegraph revealed on Friday that France has so far intercepted fewer than 40 per cent of Channel migrants this year, the lowest proportion since the first small boats arrived, despite a £480 million funding deal with Britain to help stop crossings. Ministers believe that a series of legal changes in France and Germany will, however, stem the flow of migrants. The French have amended laws so police can stop boats at sea for the first time. It will enable police to use their own boats in shallow waters to take on people-smugglers carrying migrants in overloaded vessels. French ministers are also planning to restore the offence of an 'illegal stay' in France, which would allow the police to arrest migrants and smugglers before they attempt a crossing. Currently, migrants who attempt to cross the Channel are only considered to have committed an offence when they launch the boat. Germany – where many of the migrant boats are stored before being deployed to the French coast – is also tightening its law to make it easier to prosecute those helping to smuggle migrants to the UK. Germany acts on people-smuggling Facilitating people-smuggling is not technically illegal in Germany if it is to a third country outside the EU which, following Brexit, includes the UK. Under the new agreement, Germany has pledged to make the activity a clear criminal offence. A Home Office spokesman said: 'We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. 'The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice. That is why this Government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage. 'Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders.'
