British tourist dies while trekking with friend in Himalayas

Francesca Gillett

BBC News

@HP_SDRF/X Rescue workers wearing blue and orange fleeces hold ropes as they work to tether the stretcher to the mountain — The local rescue team said the terrain was “challenging” as they stretchered the man down the mountain

A British tourist has died while trekking with a friend in the Himalaya mountains in northern India.

The two British men were hiking in “extremely difficult terrain” near the village of Thathri in Dharamshala when one of them was critically injured, local emergency services said.

The man was rescued and taken down the mountain on a stretcher, but by the time he reached hospital nearly 24 hours later he was declared dead, rescuers said.

The Foreign Office said they were “supporting the family of a British man who has died in India and are in contact with the local authorities”.

According to the Times of India, the pair were hiking the Triund trek, a popular route of about 7km (4.3 miles) in the foothills of the Dhauladhar mountain range.

They were on their descent when one of the men fell and his friend sought help from the nearby village, the newspaper reports.

Local rescuers, the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Response Force, said on X that the call for their help had come in at 18:00 on Sunday, and a team of 10 people had been sent up the mountain to search for the men.

“After four hours of trekking, the team located the victims at 10:30pm with one trekker in a critical condition. They secured the critical trekker onto a stretcher and began the challenging descent along with his co trekker.

“The rough terrain and repeated crossings of a rivulet made progress extremely slow, requiring nearly two hours to cover just 100 meters.”

The two men had reportedly trekked to Triund – a small hill station, pictured – and were on their descent when the injury happened

Getty Images A grass-topped mountain, with some small tents dotted along, and some mountains in the background — The two men had reportedly trekked to Triund – a small hill station, pictured – and were on their descent when the injury happened

Overnight the team requested backup, and more rescuers arrived in the morning.

“They continued transporting the victims but faced extreme difficulty due to the steep landscape, requiring multiple anchorings of the stretcher.”

The man was finally taken to hospital at 17:08 on Monday but was declared dead on arrival, rescuers added. His friend was unharmed.

The local authorities in Kangra district had brought in a temporary ban on trekking in high-altitude areas, but the Times of India says the two tourists were unaware of it.

It said they had reached the snowline – the part of the mountain where snow is on the ground all year round.

The victim has yet to be formally identified.