Man Says His Friend Warned Him to Run Before Dying in a Rockslide: 'He Saved Me by Screaming'

Two friends were visiting Canada's Banff National Park connected June 19, erstwhile they encountered a vulnerable rockslide that killed 1 of them.

Hamza Benhilal, 33, and his friend Khaled El Gamal, 28, were connected nan Bow Glacier Falls hiking way astatine nan nationalist parkland successful Calgary erstwhile nan broadside of nan cliff collapsed astir 1:30 p.m. connected Thursday, June 19. Benhilal was killed successful nan accident.

Benhilal, primitively from Morocco, and El Gamal, primitively from Egypt, heard a large sound, which El Gamal said sounded for illustration a thunderstorm. He past turned astir to look astatine nan root of nan sound and saw a ample boulder autumn from nan upland and past shatter into pieces.

“I froze for illustration a cervid successful headlights,” El Gamal told nan Canadian Press, adding that he was snapped retired of his trance erstwhile Benhilal screamed astatine him to run. “He saved maine by screaming.” 

“He did shriek retired loud, telling maine to run, run, run. And that’s what helped maine get backmost connected to my senses and commencement running, because I was successful shock. It seemed for illustration a movie scene, conscionable seeing rocks coming from nan side,” El Gamal told CTV News.

“It wasn’t for him, I would person conscionable stood my crushed location successful daze arsenic I froze. I don’t know, my mind conscionable disengaged astatine that moment,” he said. “And he screamed and told maine to run, run, run. And then, I survived.”

El Gamal was capable to outrun nan rockslide but mislaid show of his friend doing so.

“The rocks evidently were truthful fast, they were falling,” he told CTV. “So, they deed my legs and I fell to nan ground. And past each I retrieve is I hid my head, I covered my caput pinch my arms, conscionable kept my backmost towards nan rocks and conscionable kept suffering nan stone falls. Rock aft stone was hitting my back.” 

“I was bleeding and looking around,” El Gamal told nan Canadian Press. “I was soaked successful humor and hardly managing myself,” he said, noting that he besides vomited a fewer times. “It was nan astir achy acquisition I’ve had.”

El Gamal suffered non-critical injuries, including fractures to his scapula and pelvis, arsenic good arsenic cuts and tears to his face, shoulder, back, legs and feet. 

El Gamal walked disconnected nan way to find thief for his friend, but he soon realized nary 1 could find Benhilal. “I kept telling them, my friend, where’s my friend? And cipher was capable to find him. Nobody was capable to spot him. We did not cognize what happened until we were told he was recovered nether nan rubble there,” he told CTV News.

Another person, retired assemblage professor Jutta Hinrichs, 70, was besides killed by nan rockslide. Two others were injured.

El Gamal noted really adjuvant nan different hikers were erstwhile searching for Benhilal.

“The ones that stayed there, alternatively than conscionable return their worldly and spell and leave, they stayed pinch america risking their ain lives to support us, to get done nan difficult clip and to enactment awake and to hold for nan rescuers to come," he told CTV.

“The segment is ever being played astatine nan backmost of our heads,” he said, adding that those who person visited him successful nan infirmary are besides seeing and emotion nan trauma of nan situation. 

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El Gamal said he thought of Benhilal arsenic a “big brother.” 

“He was a very, very generous and a very bully person. The personification that whenever you are moreover successful trouble, you would spell connected to talk to him because he had this wisdom,” he told CTV. “I would scope retired to him whenever I was successful request of advice.”

“My inquire is that for america to nonstop him to Morocco,” El Gamal said. “We were fixed a very ample invoice for nan funeral, which we’re hoping anybody would fig thing retired to compensate nan family for their loss.”