B.C. man who survived Banff rockslide identifies friend as second victim

A man who survived the deadly rockslide in Banff National Park recounts the moment his friend – who did not survive – told him to run for his life.

Khaled El Gamal and Hamza Benhilal moved to Metro Vancouver in 2022 to pursue master’s degrees in business administration.

The two men rented an apartment together in Surrey and became close friends as they earned their MBAs and found jobs in their adopted country. El Gamal was working as a financial advisor in Port Moody and Benhilal was a network engineer in Burnaby when they decided to take a trip to Calgary to explore Banff National Park.

The friends and roommates were on a popular hiking trail taking photos of Bow Glacier Falls last Thursday afternoon when the side of the cliff gave way.

“The sound was like very loud, you can say like a thunderstorm or something,” said El Gamal, who added he froze until Benhilal’s voice snapped him out of it.

“He did scream out loud telling me to run, run, run. And that’s what helped me get back on to my senses and start running, because I was in shock. It seemed like a movie scene, just seeing rocks coming from the side,” said El Gamal.

The 28-year-old lost sight of his friend, and was ultimately unable to outrun the rockslide.

“The rocks obviously were so fast, they were falling. So, they hit my legs and I fell to the ground. And then all I remember is I hid my head, I covered my head with my arms, just kept my back towards the rocks and just kept suffering the rock falls. Rock after rock was hitting my back,” said El Gamal.

When the rocks stopped falling, El Gamal was injured, but alive. He was able to walk off the trail to get help.

“I kept telling them, my friend, where’s my friend? And nobody was able to locate him. Nobody was able to see him. We did not know what happened until we were told he was found under the rubble there,” said El Gamal, who remains in hospital in Calgary with serious injuries.

“I have a fractured scapula and fractured pelvis and a bunch of cuts and tears on my face, my shoulder, my back, my legs, my feet. And that’s pretty much it – thank God, nothing critical,” he said.

While his injuries will heal, he is mourning the loss of his close friend, who was more like an older brother.

“He was a very, very generous and a very nice person. The person that whenever you are even in trouble, you would go on to talk to him because he had this wisdom,” said El Gamal. “I would reach out to him whenever I was in need of advice.”

Benhilal’s brother will be arriving in Canada shortly to make arrangements to bring the young man’s body back to Morocco for a funeral. “My ask is that for us to send him to Morocco, we were given a very large invoice for the funeral, which we’re hoping anybody would figure something out to compensate the family for their loss,” El Gamal said.

He wants to thank the people who helped him and other hikers after the slide, which killed two and left three others hurt.

“The ones that stayed there, rather than just take their stuff and go and leave, they stayed with us risking their own lives to support us, to get through the hard time and to stay awake and to wait for the rescuers to come.”

El Gamal would also like to see more psychological support for the hikers who were injured, and those who helped them.

“The scene is always being played at the back of our heads. I’m not talking for myself, I’m talking for others who have also visited me in the hospital. And definitely, these matters need to be addressed as well in a better way,” he said.

El Gamal believes he owes his life to his friend Hamza, who told him to run when the slide began.

“It wasn’t for him, I would have just stood my ground there in shock as I froze. I don’t know, my mind just disengaged at that moment,” said El Gamal. “And he screamed and told me to run, run, run. And then, I survived.”