Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Avalanche survivor saved by axe

Avalanche survivor saved by  axe

A survivor of one of the worst avalanche tragedy in the Highlands told yesterday of the moment when his friends were swept away to their deaths.

Thomas Leyland told an inquest that the snow cracked beneath them as they descended from Bidean nam Bian and five of the party of six were swept over a cliff.

Mr Leyland managed to dig his ice-axe into the snow and arrest his plunge, and was horrified when he later realised the rest of the group had fallen 1,000ft.

Four young climbers died in the avalanche which happened on January 19, and yesterday an inquest was held into the death of Christopher Bell, 24, a “brilliant” PhD student studying in Oban.

Mr Bell, died along with Tom Chesters, 28, a Phd student from Leeds, Dr Rachel Majumdar, 29, who worked at Harrogate District Hospital in Yorkshire and junior doctor Una Rachel Finnegan, 25, who was living in Edinburgh.

Another member of the group was taken to hospital with serious injuries but survived.

Mr Leyland, who grew up with Mr Bell in Balderstone, Lancs, described him as a “brilliant” and “intelligent” student.

He said that the group were experienced walkers, but when the crack appeared in the snow they were pushed onto their backs and forced down the hill by waves of snow.

Mr Leyland said: “We had hired crampons (spikes fitted to boots) to give us extra grip. Tom and Chris led the team and conducted avalanche checks throughout the ascent.

“When we reached the top the visibility declined so we reassessed our return route and chose one which seemed the easiest and safest.

“We started to zig zag down the mountain because it was too steep to go straight forward with Tom and then Chris leading the way.

“I was just about to turn a corner they had already taken when the ground cracked and we were pushed down the slope.

“When I got up I realised that I had lost sight of the others.

“When I passed the outcrop and still couldn’t see them I realised how serious it was.”

Mr Bell’s brother Edward, 22, said: “It was a freak tragedy. Chris was a brilliant brother and lived life to the full as he wanted.”

Chief Coroner Michael Singleton ruled that Mr Bell, who had been studying ocean mapping at the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban, died an accidental death caused by multiple injuries as a result of the incident.

The coroner added: “This is truly a tragedy almost beyond comprehension.”