British tourist killed after being struck by boulder on trek through Himalayas
4 April 2025, 21:23
A British tourist died after being hit by a boulder while hiking through the Himalayas, an inquest has found.
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Data analyst Tom Howard, 27, and his friend Robert Emerton were making their way along a snowy route on India's Triund Trek on February 16 when he was hit in the chest and collapsed.
It prompted a rescue mission which was "extremely arduous and covered several hours" through difficult terrain that managed to get him to hospital the next day, Woking Coroner's Court heard.
On Friday, assistant coroner for Surrey Scott McDonnell, found that Mr Howard, of Weybridge, Surrey, died on February 17 as a result of a head injury and ruled that his death was accidental.
A provisional post-mortem examination at a hospital in Dharamshala, India, on February 18 gave the cause of death as shock due to chest and abdomen trauma caused by blunt force impact, but a second examination on March 10 found a fracture to his skull.
Mr Howard and his friend, who had been travelling overseas since December, saw various landmarks as they made their way along a "well-trodden route" that was "tough going", the court heard.
In a statement by Mr Emerton read out to the court, he said he "heard a yell from Tom behind me", between 4pm and 4.30pm.
He turned around and saw his friend had lost his balance and appeared like he had been hit by a dislodged boulder.
Straightaway, Mr Emerton could see that Mr Howard was "trying to breathe" and was "trying to speak but could not get anything out".
He called 999 hoping to get assistance but efforts to reach the emergency services were thwarted as he did not have a local contact number and had no signal.
After this point, Mr Emerton said he "made the choice to go for help".
His aim was to get to a village and call for a helicopter to help save his critically injured friend, the inquest heard.
He added: "I wrapped Tom with the clothes we had spare and told him what I was doing but he was not responding."
The route to find assistance was "extremely treacherous" and included climbing down a cliff section and finding a way past a waterfall.
He got to the village and returned with three local men to Mr Howard at about 6pm.
The court heard that Mr Emerton was "extremely exhausted" by this time but noticed that his friend had not moved position. He had a weak pulse and did not respond.
Rescue teams arrived hours later but it was not possible to get a helicopter to the scene.
The inquest heard the only option was to carry Mr Howard which meant moving "incredibly slowly" and dealing with slippery rocks and tough conditions, the court heard.
Just 300-500 metres were covered in three hours, Mr Emerton said.
At some point the next morning one of the team told him that "Tom was gone", the inquest heard.
They continued down the path and eventually Mr Howard was placed in an ambulance later that afternoon and pronounced dead.
The inquest was a documentary hearing, which Mr Howard's family and friends decided not to attend.
