Glencoe: Fourth victim named as Rachel Majumdar of Merseyside

Rachel Majumdar, Christopher Bell, Una Finnegan and Tom Chesters

A climber who died along with three friends in an avalanche in the Scottish Highlands has been named as Dr Rachel Majumdar from Merseyside.

Christopher Bell, from Blackburn, Una Finnegan from County Londonderry and Tom Chesters, from Sidmouth in Devon, also died in Saturday's incident.

A 24-year-old woman, who remains critical in hospital, and a sixth climber, a man, survived.

They had been descending a mountain in Glencoe.

The group were caught up in the avalanche on Bidean nam Bian at about 14:00 GMT.

It is thought the five of them were carried down the mountain when the slope they were on broke away.

The sixth member survived by leaping from the collapsing snow and hammering an ice axe into the ground.

Dr Majumdar, 29, was a doctor working at Harrogate District Hospital.

She was originally from Merseyside and had recently been living in Leeds.

'Competitive character'

Dr Finnegan, 25, was a junior doctor living in Edinburgh.

Mr Chesters, 28, was a PhD student at Hull University and was living in Leeds.

Mr Bell, 24, from Balderstone near Blackburn in Lancashire, was studying for a PHD in Ocean Mapping in Oban.

His father Simon Bell said: "He was a true inspiration to everyone who knew him and he certainly inspired us."

Staff at the University of the Highlands and Islands said they were saddened by the death of one of their students.

In a statement, they said: "Our thoughts are with his friends and family, as well as with our colleagues at Scottish Association for Marine Science UHI."

Friend Ben Thompson said Mr Bell was one of the top amateurs in off-road triathlon and mountain biking in Scotland.

A former team-mate of the 24-year-old, Mr Thompson said: "He was certainly a competitive character but didn't have an aggressive character.

"He believed we were all in it together."

Mr Bell recently ranked within the top 15 at the Celtman Extreme Scottish Triathlon, an endurance event that attracts entrants from throughout Britain and Europe.