Something similar happened to me. We were on a trek and we spotted a bear carrying its cub on its back. A nutcase in our group started going near the bear and taking pictures with a flash. The bear kept the cub somewhere at a ditance and came back and chased us. Some of us got injured, but one guy almost got mauled. Thankfully no one died.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend but I think it was highly irresponsible of him to take faulty equipment and take 2 ametures along.