The second person who died in a rockslide in Banff National Park last week was a 33-year-old man from Surrey, B.C.
A survivor of the fall in Banff National Park is remembering Hamza Benhilal, who didn’t make it out alive from under the rubble.
Khaled Elgamal, 28, of Surrey B.C., says his roommate and friend Benhilal was one of two people who died after a slab of mountain gave way last Thursday, raining rock down on hikers at Bow Glacier Falls.
The first confirmed victim, who was recovered Thursday, has been identified as 70-year-old Calgarian Jutta Hinrichs.
Hinrichs was a longtime employee of the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. She retired last summer.
Elgamal says he was visiting Banff with Benhilal, an engineer, when they heard the loud sound of rocks dislodging and started running.
Elgamal says he was crushed by the stones and is recovering in a Calgary hospital from a fractured pelvis and shoulder.
Three others were taken to hospital by STARS Air Ambulance and ground ambulance on June 19.
In total, 13 people were evacuated from the area following the rockslide.
François Masse, the Parks Canada Superintendent of the Lake Louise, Yoho, and Kootenay Field Unit, said Friday afternoon that the size of the rockslide couldn’t be measured at this time; however, he said, “the scope and size of this rockfall is extremely rare for the mountain.”
Parks Canada confirmed that a similar rockfall happened in 2023 in a similar area. Injuries were reported in that incident; however, they were minor.