The British woman who was killed in a ferocious blizzard in Patagonia was a former aide of pop singer Cheryl Cole, it has been revealed.
Cornwall-based Victoria Bond, 40, was tragically killed on Monday after 120mph blasts of snow hit Torres del Paine nature reserve, Chile’s most visited foreign tourist spot.
She had previously worked as an assistant for the Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole, as well as Peaky Blinders actress Annabelle Wallis.
Two Germans and two Mexicans also died when the trekkers when a freak deluge of snow and wind hit the Patagonian park, which is famed for its granite peaks, glaciers and wildlife.
Last night, one of Ms Bond’s friends, who was with her at the time, exclusively described the terrifying incident to the Daily Mail.
Chris Aldridge – a TV film and TV director – said he thought he and everyone he was with were going to perish on the icy peaks of the nature reserve.
‘Most of the time I was thinking, “Oh, this is where we die”,’ he said.
The Brit recalled how endless snow rushed into his face as he hurtled down the mountain, his feet and hands beginning to succumb to the biting cold that had started to sink in.
In the face of perilously fast winds caused by a whiteout snowstorm, the director, along with the others he was trekking with, had made the decision to turn back to safety.
But despite being an experienced hiker, having trekked across the Himalayas, Mr Aldridge said he has never known terror like he did on Monday.
He said the ‘sheer determination not to die’ pushed him and others to keep going until they reached safety.
Having spent some time in Argentina, Chris, Victoria and three others he was travelling with made their way into Chile to make the trek, where they noticed that the weather hitting the country was horrid.
Mr Aldridge told the Daily Mail: ‘The weather was pretty bad. It was p***ing it out on the first day, but it was fine. It was an easy walk – It just meant a lot of water and mud.’
The bad weather held for the next few days, until Monday – the day of the tragedy.
Mr Aldridge claimed that the weather forecasts for Monday had predicted winds of up to 100kmph (62mph), fast enough to be classified as a tropical storm.
Despite the high wind speeds, he claims that he and others were told that it was safe to follow Circuit O, an arduous journey across Torres del Paine.
Leaving their accommodation at around 5.30am on Monday, November 17, the initial climb up to John Garner Pass, the highest point of Circuit O, was relatively easy, according to Mr Aldridge.
‘It’s just quite a lot of uphill, but through forests, just a lot of water, but no problems there. The problem was that wind descended.
‘We knew there’d be some winds, but obviously we didn’t know how bad it was going to be.’
But coming back down from their ascent was difficult, due to the conditions, Mr Aldridge said.
‘Some people slid down the mountain. It was icy, really treacherous conditions, [with] really strong winds. People couldn’t see in front or behind [themselves].’
Mr Aldridge said: ‘It was pretty terrifying. I slid down the mountain once at a very high speed and I couldn’t stop. It was just sheet ice.
Upon arriving back at their camp, the group realised that many had suffered from serious injuries, Mr Aldridge said: ‘It was still really windy and everyone was verging on hypothermia.
‘Lots of people with frostbite and some other superficial injuries.’
The group also realised that not everyone had made it back.
Worse still, Mr Aldridge said park rangers who ordinarily would’ve been there to deploy an immediate rescue mission were nowhere to be found, having been called back to their home towns to vote in Sunday’s general election – the first to have enforced compulsory voting since 2012.
As a result, hikers, along with some volunteers at the camps, organised a makeshift rescue force to try and find the people who had gone missing.
Mr Aldridge said he felt a bittersweet pride in the hard work everyone at the camp put into rescuing the missing few.
‘Everyone came together in the most extraordinary way. Even though everyone was struggling themselves, they were all helping each other. There was a lot of compassion.
‘They went above and beyond. People were just throwing their equipment at each other. Whatever people wanted, they would give it.’
Serious questions remain over how preventable all of this was. A friend of Ms Bond reiterated in a post to her Instagram page: ‘There was no official search organised by the park authorities that day.’
CONAF, the body in charge of Chile’s national parks, said in an earlier statement: ‘We deeply regret this tragedy and send our solidarity to the families of the deceased and to all those who have experienced very difficult times in Torres del Paine National Park.
‘Following this tragedy, CONAF will review the safety and communication protocols in the park’s circuits together with the concessionaires, with the aim of strengthening prevention and emergency response capacity.
‘We reiterate our commitment to the safety of visitors and to the protection of one of the country’s most valuable natural heritages.’
