The RCMP have identified the second victim of a fatal rock slide that happened Thursday in Banff National Park as a man from of Surrey, B.C.
The man’s body was recovered around 9 a.m. on Friday from the scene of the rock slide, near Bow Glacier Falls, about 37 kilometres north of Lake Louise, along the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93).
While the RCMP did not provide the man’s name, 28-year-old Khaled Elgamal, who said he was a friend of the victim, has identified him as 33-year-old Hamza Benhilal.
Elgamal said he and Benhilal, who was an engineer, were visiting Banff National Park, when they heard the loud sound of rocks dislodging and they started running.
While Benhilal was killed by the falling rock, Elgamal said he was crushed by the stones and is recovering in a Calgary hospital from a fractured pelvis and shoulder.
Multiple hikers were in the area when the rock slide hit, around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The slide also killed 70-year-old Jutta Hinrichs of Calgary, whose body was recovered later on Thursday.
However, search and rescue crews were unable to recover the second victim’s body until Friday because of darkness. They had to wait for the arrival of a geotechnical engineer to make sure the area was safe enough to begin removing debris.
Three other people were injured in the slide.
Two of them were airlifted to hospital in Calgary, while the third person was transported by ground ambulance.
With files from The Canadian Press.
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