Of the thousands who died during Saturday's devastating earthquake in Nepal [1] was Dan Fredinburg, a Google executive. Fredinburg had been at Mount Everest when the earthquake struck and triggered a terrifying avalanche captured on video [2]: he suffered a fatal head injury.
As the director of privacy for Google X, he worked on some of the company's most innovative initiatives [3], such as its driverless car. Google released a statement to its employees [4] over the weekend. "Sadly, we lost one of our own in this tragedy. Dan Fredinburg a long-time member of the Privacy organization in Mountain View, was in Nepal with three other Googlers, hiking Mount Everest," said the letter, which was posted on Google+. "He has passed away. The other three Googlers with him are safe and we are working to get them home quickly."
Fredinburg's sister also delivered the news on his Instagram account, where he had posted other pictures from his trip [5] to Mount Everest.
This is Dans little sister Megan. I regret to inform all who loved him that during the avalanche on Everest early this morning our Dan suffered from a major head injury and didn't make it. 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. All our love and thanks to those who shared this life with our favorite hilarious strong willed man. He was and is everything to us. Thank you. [6]
Actress Sophia Bush, who used to date Fredinburg, shared her own emotional message on Instagram [7]. She called him fearless and funny and someone who wanted to create a better future for the world.
This wasn't Fredinburg's first trip to Everest — he had visited the mountain several times [8], taking photos so that everyone could enjoy the sights via Google Street View. In 2013, he wrote a blog post [9] about it.
"While there's nothing quite like standing on the mountain, with Google Maps you can instantly transport yourself to the top of these peaks and enjoy the sights without all of the avalanches, rock slides, crevasses and dangers from altitude and weather that mountaineers face."