Pictured: Durham graduate, 27, killed while trekking in Himalayas
A Durham University graduate has been identified as the British tourist who died after falling in the Himalayas.
Tom Howard, 27, died on Monday while on a mountain trek in India with his friend Robert Emerton, also 27.
The pair were walking the 5.5-mile Triund Trek on Sunday when Mr Howard, a software engineer educated at fee-paying Cranleigh School in Surrey, suffered severe injuries in the fall.
Mr Emerton, an auditor, walked for two-and-a-half hours to summon help from the nearby village of Thathri, on the outskirts of Dharamshala.
A 10-man rescue team then found Mr Howard in 'a critical condition' before attempting to evacuate him to safety on a stretcher across 'challenging terrain', the state rescue service said.
A spokesman said: 'He was secured to a stretcher and they began the challenging descent along with his co-trekker.'
The rescuers did not reach Dharamshala until Monday afternoon, where Mr Howard was pronounced dead.
A post-mortem examination conducted at a hospital in Dharamshala later revealed 'severe chest and abdomen injuries' and a lacerated liver, officials said.
Dr Anuradha Sharma, the hospital's medical superintendent, said his fall 'must have been from a considerable height'.
Kuldeep Singh, who was involved in the rescue operation, said earlier this week: 'His friend contacted some local villagers and they were able to guide us to the spot where he died.
'The rescuers walked for about 2.5 hours through the jungle to reach it. I think he was alive then. But by the time the second team got there to bring him down, he had died.'
Mr Howard and Mr Emerton are thought to have met as undergraduates at St Mary's College, Durham, where they matriculated in 2015.
Photos showed the pair enjoying formal dinners in black tie, while Mr Howard, a skilled sportsman, represented the university and his college at hockey.
Before university, Mr Howard attended Cranleigh School, the public school where he was a prefect and earned four A-Levels.
He then earned a second-class master's degree in natural sciences at Durham and joined London-based Quantexa, the financial security firm, after graduation.
Mr Howard, originally from Weybridge, Surrey, was twice promoted and was a senior data engineer at the time of his death.
It was reported that the state government had imposed a ban on high-altitude trekking during the winter of which the two tourists were unaware.
A spokesman 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.'
A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in India and are in contact with the local authorities.'
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