San Francisco: A Google executive and self-described adventurer was among 10 people killed at a Mount Everest base camp in an avalanche triggered by a major Nepal earthquake on April 25, the company and his family said.
Dan Fredinburg was killed in the avalanche that buried parts of the base camp where hundreds of mountaineers were gathered for the start of the climbing season. He was with several colleagues who survived the tragedy, Lawrence You, director of privacy at Google, said in a blog post.
"Sadly, we lost one of our own in this tragedy. Dan Fredinburg, a long-time member of the Privacy organisation... was in Nepal with three other Googlers, hiking Mount Everest. He has passed away," You wrote. "The other three Googlers with him are safe and we are working to get them home quickly." You said Google.org was contributing $1 million to the response efforts. Fredinburg's sister Megan said he died of a head trauma.
This is Dans little sister Megan. I regret to inform all who loved him that during the avalanche on… https://t.co/TWFLksGSdf
— Dan Fredinburg (@danfredinburg) April 25, 2015"We appreciate all of the love that has been sent our way thus far and know his soul and his spirit will live on in so many of us," she posted on his Instagram feed, along with a photo of him scaling a snowy slope. "All our love and thanks to those who shared this life with our favourite hilarious strong-willed man. He was and is everything to us," she posted.
Photo Credits: Instagram
Photo Credits: Instagram
Photo Credits: Instagram
Photo Credits: Instagram
Photo Credits: Instagram
Fredinburg described himself as an "Adventurer, Inventor, and Energetic Engineer @Google" on his Twitter page. Photos on his Twitter and Instagram accounts in recent days show him preparing for his trek on the snowy slopes of Everest with colleagues.
Day 22: Ice training with @michelebattelli means frequent stops for morning cappuccino, regardless of… https://t.co/apw2umkG5q
— Dan Fredinburg (@danfredinburg) April 24, 2015Day 20: Saving ice on top of Kala Patthar. Everest Basecamp in the background is a climate change… https://t.co/inLrlcnCEK
— Dan Fredinburg (@danfredinburg) April 24, 2015Day 19: The ceremony calls for rice and flour to be slapped on our faces to grant us the appearance… https://t.co/LdhyCxTnn1
— Dan Fredinburg (@danfredinburg) April 21, 2015"Ice training with @micbattelli means frequent stops for morning cappuccino, regardless of danger. #Everest2015," his last post on Friday read. His Twitter feed said he arrived in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu on March 31.
Fredinburg's LinkedIn profile said he was head of privacy at Google X and had previously worked as an engineer for Boeing. Officials have confirmed more than 1,200 deaths after the massive earthquake that tore through Nepal, making it the worst disaster in more than 80 years in the quake-prone nation.
