Wow, that does sound strange. Hard to imagine how the other guy died unless he fell, ate some poisonous shrooms or had some bad medical condition. I guess it would be hard to self-evac the guy once he went down, and if there's nothing more than that it would put you in a hard spot. If the guy is down and can't be moved, do you stay and watch him die or leave him and try to get him help?
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“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman