Members of Calgary’s Sikh community are in shock as a search continues for Gagandeep Singh Khalsa. Friends say he fell into the North Saskatchewan River near the Glacier Lake Trail at the north end of Banff National Park.
The young man was posing for photos near the edge of the river with a mountain in the background when it’s believed he fell. That was the last time his friends saw him.
Khalsa was travelling to Jasper, Alta., with two other friends when they stopped to hike the Glacier Lake Trail, located near Saskatchewan River Crossing, just after 6 p.m.
At a bridge on the trail, Khalsa scrambled down to the river’s edge, friends said.
“One of his friends was standing on the bridge and he asked him to take his picture,” Parmeet Singh Boparai told Global News Monday. “His friend took his picture and his friend turned his back to take another picture. Then he heard some noises from the back.”
Khalsa’s hiking companions said they turned around and saw hands waving from the water.
“The only thing they got was his turban. His turban was floating. They pulled out his turban and left it on the side to show the rescue team where it was.”
The two remaining hikers ran up to Highway 93 looking for help after they discovered they had no cell phone signal. They were able to call 9-1-1 from the nearby Saskatchewan River Crossing.
RCMP said they responded to a report that a man fell into the North Saskatchewan River at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The search and rescue effort with Parks Canada has been ongoing since.
Boparai was one of eight friends who went to nearby Lake Louise to comfort the two who were with Khalsa.
Khalsa was working as an office assistant at a Calgary medical office while waiting for his permanent residency papers, after graduating from Bow Valley College, his friends said. He recently got engaged during a trip to India.
Friends said Khalsa was hard working, caring and a devout member of the Sikh faith.
Boparai described him as being like a little brother.
“He was really kind, lovable, he was involved with the community,” Boparai said from Lake Louise. “He was involved with the youth. He used to take them hiking and camping. He used to organize all the events as well.”
Boparai has been a part of the network of Khalsa’s friends keeping the family in India updated.
“They still have hope and we keep calling them and updating them on every single thing.”