British tourist, 27, who died after falling from 'considerable height' while trekking in Himalayas pictured

Tom Howard, 27, died on Monday (17 February) after falling from a 'considerable height' in the Himalayas during a 5.5 mile mountain trek with his friend Robert Emerton, 27. Howard was a Durham University graduate and was originally from Weybridge, Surrey.

He fell and suffered severe injuries while walking the Triund Trek on Sunday. 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 were dispatched around 6:30pm on Sunday, and found the software engineer in a 'critical condition' before evacuating him on a stretcher. A second team was dispatched to assist, reaching the original group at 8am on Monday.

By early afternoon, a third team had to be sent out to support, reaching the rescue site at 4pm. Mr Howard was brought down to an ambulance just after 5pm, on Monday, more than a day after the injury, and was tragically pronounced dead in hospital.

A post-mortem exam conducted at the hospital in Dharamshala later revealed Mr Howard suffered from 'severe chest and abdomen injuries' and a lacerated liver. Mr Howard and Mr Emerton are thought to have met in 2015 when they started as undergraduate students at St Mary's College at Durham University.

Mr Howard was a skilled sportsman, and represented the university at hockey, and before university attended the fee-paying Cranleigh School, where he was a prefect. He earned a second-class master's degree in natural sciences at Durham and joined London-based Quantexa, the financial security firm, after graduation

It was reported that there was a local ban on high-altitude trekking in the winter season, which police said the tourists were unaware of. A FCDO spokesperson said: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in India and are in contact with the local authorities'.