A BRITISH hiker died from a fractured skull after being hit by a falling boulder on a dangerous Himalayan trek, an inquest has found.
Tom Howard, 27, a data analyst from Weybridge, Surrey, was hiking the snow-covered Triund Trek in India with his friend Robert Emerton when disaster struck.
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The pair were travelling a “well-trodden route” that was “tough going” when the tragedy unfolded on February 16 between 4pm and 4.30pm.
In a statement read at Woking Coroner’s Court, Mr Emerton said: “I heard a yell from Tom behind me.”
Turning around, he saw his friend had lost balance and appeared to have been hit by a falling boulder.
“Straightaway,” he said, “I could see that Tom was trying to breathe and was trying to speak but could not get anything out.”
Unable to get through to emergency services due to having no signal or local number, Mr Emerton “made the choice to go for help”.
He wrapped his injured friend in spare clothes and told him what he was doing, but “he was not responding.”
The trek for help was “extremely treacherous”, involving scaling down a cliff and navigating a waterfall.
Mr Emerton reached a village and returned with three local men by 6pm — but his friend hadn’t moved.
Rescue teams arrived later that evening, but the terrain meant a helicopter rescue was impossible.
The team managed to cover just 300-500 metres in three hours, with Mr Emerton describing the conditions as “incredibly slow” with slippery rocks and tough terrain.
By the next morning, one of the team told Mr Emerton “Tom was gone.”
Mr Howard was eventually taken down the mountain and pronounced dead after being placed in an ambulance.
A provisional post-mortem in India on February 18 found he died from shock due to blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen.
A second exam on March 10 revealed a skull fracture.
On Friday, assistant coroner for Surrey Scott McDonnell ruled Mr Howard’s death as accidental, caused by a head injury.
The inquest was a documentary hearing and was not attended by Mr Howard’s family or friends.
Tom and Robert are thought to have met in 2015 as undergraduate students at the prestigious Durham University.
Tom had attended Cranleigh School prior to university, where he was a prefect.
He also earned a master’s degree in natural sciences at Durham before joining the London-based Quantexa – the financial security firm – after graduating.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Tom Howard, who was a talented and valued colleague at Quantexa.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”
Due to the dangers of winter conditions, trekking above 3,000 meters is currently prohibited in the area, which includes Triund and its surroundings.
According to the authorities, hikers are exposed to serious risks from extreme weather and heavy snowfall.
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