A survivor of a Banff rockslide shares how a last-second warning from his dear friend saved his life while the friend and another hiker tragically died.
On Thursday, June 19, 2025, 28-year-old Khaled Elgamal set out on a hike along the Bow Glacier Falls trail in Banff National Park, a scenic nine-kilometer route that traces the edge of Bow Lake. Partway through the hike, a slab of the mountainside suddenly collapsed, sending a torrent of rocks crashing down onto the path.
He had been on vacation with his roommate, Hamza Benhilal, 33, and a third friend. While the third friend stayed behind at the hotel, Elgamal and Benhilal drove to the falls after a hotel worker recommended it as a quieter alternative to Lake Louise. “We didn’t even have it on our bucket list for that day,” Elgamal said.
The two had taken photos by the lake and begun their hike when they heard what sounded like a thunderclap. A large boulder fell, hit the ground, and exploded into pieces. Benhilal was walking ahead when he turned and shouted at Elgamal to run. “He saved me by screaming,” Elgamal recalled. “I froze like a deer in headlights.”
Benhilal, who had been walking ahead, turned and shouted a warning. “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,” he shared.
Elgamal tried to flee, but rocks struck his legs and knocked him to the ground. He covered his head with his arms as stones rained down, causing him to black out repeatedly. When the slide ended, he managed to get up despite serious injuries.
He was bleeding heavily, disoriented, and vomiting as he made his way down the mountain, slipping on wet stones along the way. At the bottom, other hikers rushed to help, covering him with jackets and urging him to lie down and breathe.
“I was soaked in blood and barely managing myself,” Elgamal said. “It was the most painful experience I’ve had.” Once safe, he kept asking where his friend was, but no one could find Benhilal. He later learned that his roommate had been buried under the rubble.
Elgamal and Benhilal had become close friends after meeting in an online MBA program in 2022. At the time, Elgamal was living in Egypt, and Benhilal in Morocco. They both relocated to British Columbia that same year and became housemates in Surrey.
Elgamal now works as a financial adviser, and Benhilal was a network engineer based in Burnaby. “He was my friend but also like my big brother,” Elgamal said. Their friendship extended beyond everyday companionship.
“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,” Elgamal said. “I would reach out to him whenever I was in need of advice.”
Benhilal’s body was recovered a day after the rockslide. Another hiker, Jutta Hinrichs, a 70-year-old retired university professor from Calgary, also died in the incident. Parks Canada said the rockslide was caused by natural geological forces typical of mountainous regions and could not have been anticipated or prevented.
As he gave his account of the tragic events, Elgamal remained hospitalized in Calgary with a fractured pelvis, a broken scapula, and numerous cuts and bruises. He expressed gratitude to those who stayed behind to help the injured.
To support Benhilal’s family, who are preparing to repatriate his body to Morocco, Elgamal launched a GoFundMe campaign. He hopes to raise funds to help with the expenses of transporting the body and organizing the funeral. As of June 25, the campaign had raised CA$1,070 toward its CA$15,000 goal.
In his message to donors, Elgamal wrote that sending his friend home was “very important so his parents, family, and friends are able to see him one last time.” One of Benhilal’s five brothers and his mother are expected to arrive in Alberta this week.
As the investigation into the slide continues and the trail remains closed, Elgamal is trying to recover, physically and mentally. He has been experiencing nightmares since the incident and hopes more psychological support will be made available to others who were there.
