BURST
An injured survivor of last Thursday’s fatal rockfall in Banff National Park is remembering his friend Hamza Benhilal, who died in the slide, as a kind, generous person who was always there when needed.
Khaled Elgamal, 28, was one of two hikers airlifted by STARS air ambulance to the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary after suffering a broken pelvis and shoulder blade, as well as other injuries. He said he and Benhilal, who were visiting from Vancouver, were taking photos of the Bow Glacier Falls right before the disaster struck.
The rockfall killed Benhilal, 33, and Calgarian Jutta Hinrichs, who was 70. Benhilal’s body was recovered by a search-and-rescue team Friday morning. Thirteen other hikers were injured or evacuated, including Elgamal, who is still in hospital.
While Parks Canada didn’t release Benhilal’s name, the agency did confirm Monday morning that a 33-year-old resident of Surrey, B.C., was the second hiker killed in the rockfall.
In addition to two fractured bones, Elgamal said he suffered various cuts and bruises on his back and legs, and received stitches to his forehead.
Elgamal said he and Benhilal both immigrated to Canada in 2022, and studied together for their MBAs. Elgamal is originally from Egypt, while Benhilal was from Morocco. Elgamal works as a financial advisor, while Benhilal was a network engineer. They were roommates in Surrey, B.C.
Benhilal was a good listener and mature beyond his years, according to Elgamal. He added his friend was well travelled and respected by his peers. Benhilal enjoyed playing tennis and would be very encouraging to new players of the sport.
“People would always approach him when they had problems,” Elgamal said. “He was a very good listener and talked in a very mature way, always there whenever you needed him. Never did I ever ask him for something and he was not there for me.”
Having planned a trip to Alberta, Elgamal said they intended to visit Banff as well as some of the scenic lakes in the Bow Valley , including Lake Louise and Moraine Lake.
After a recommendation from someone they met at the hotel where they were staying, Elgamal said the two decided on Thursday to check out Bow Lake and the Bow Glacier Falls, a popular hiking spot approximately 40 kilometres north of Lake Louise.
The rockfall occurred around 1 p.m., when Elgamal and Benhilal were taking photos of the scenic waterfall.
Though he blacked out a few times during the rockslide, Elgamal said he “can recall pretty much everything” about it. He and Benhilal had just ascended higher up the cliff face to take better photos. He figures they were likely the highest people up the mountain when they heard a loud crack, right before large rocks started to tumble down the cliff toward them.
“I froze out of fear and couldn’t move for like two seconds,” Elgamal said. “My friend, the only thing I remember was telling me, ‘run, run, run.’
“(He) was a little bit to my left side when we turned our backs to the rocks and started running. Very shortly after, the rocks started hitting my legs and I fell down to the ground. I kind of squeezed my body, just giving my back to the rocks and trying to cover my head.”
The last thing Elgamal saw, he said, was Benhilal running down the mountain in front of him.
“That was it — I didn’t see him again after that,” he said. “The rocks just kept slamming my back, one after another.”
Once the rocks had settled and he regained full consciousness, Elgamal said he realized his back, head and hands were bleeding. He knew he had to get down the mountain if he was going to be able to be rescued.
“There was dust and I couldn’t see anything,” he recalled. “The rocks were slippery because of the waterfall, so I started sliding down the rocks to get to the ground level.”
After descending, he said he started calling out for help. Eventually, a first responder grabbed him and got him onto one of STARS’ helicopters.
While still in a Calgary hospital Monday, he said his condition has been improving and his doctors told him he should likely recover in six to eight weeks, with no surgery required.
“The nurses here have been taking good care of me, with the medications and the healing process,” he told Postmedia. “I’ve been improving day by day and I’m starting to be able to stand and go to the washroom.”
By speaking to media, Elgamal said he wants to pay tribute to Benhilal, whose family now has to deal with both funeral expenses as well as the cost to transport his body back to Morocco — something Elgamal has heard will cost about $13,000.
Benhilal’s brother will be coming to Canada this week to retrieve the body and sort out any paperwork, Elgamal added.
Elgamal also said he feels he and the other survivors need psychiatric support in processing what happened, but said they haven’t received that assistance yet.
“Just talking about it helps me with . . . letting people know this is what happened,” he said.