The head of privacy at the secretive Google X facility was one of the 18 people killed in an avalanche at Mount Everest, triggered by the Nepal earthquake. Hundreds of foreign nationals are also feared dead or are missing.
Dan Fredinburg, 33, was part of the Jagged Globe expedition team that was tackling Mount Everest when the 7.9-magnidue quake shook Nepal, according to Jagged Globe and his family. He died of fatal head injury.
Fredinburg headed the Google X research lab, which is in charge of developing projects like self-driving cars, drone deliveries, Google Glass, and contact lenses. Fredinburg’s sister posted the news of her brother’s death on social media.
The manager’s former girlfriend actress Sophia Bush also published an emotional post on Instagram.
A spokesman for the Nepal Tourism Ministry, Gyanendra Shrestha said that two tents at the camp have been filled with wounded climbers. The Tourism ministry added that about 1,000 climbers, including around 400 foreigners, were present at base camp or were climbing Everest when the earthquake struck.
Around 300,000 foreign tourists come to Nepal each spring for activities like climbing, trekking and hiking, according to Reuters.
Those climbers who survived were pleading for help. Romanian mountaineer Alex Gavan was urging the authorities to support the rescue mission with helicopters: “Many dead. Much more badly injured. More to die if not heli asap.”