NEW YORK
A Google executive was among more than 1,000 people killed Saturday in Nepal after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the Himalayan nation, his family and a mountaineering company confirmed.
Daniel Fredinburg, who headed privacy at Google's innovation lab called Google X, died during an avalanche on Mount Everest that was prompted by the quake, his sister said on social media.
"This is Dan's [sic] 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," read the post on his Instagram.
Fredinburg was a an experienced climber, according to tech news website Recode.net.
The mountaineering company Fredinburg was hiking with has also confirmed his death.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dan’s family and friends whilst we pray too for all those who have lost their lives in one of the greatest tragedies ever to hit this Himalayan nation," the U.K.-based company Jagged Globe said in a statement.
The company said two other mountaineers were also affected by the avalanche with non-life threatening injuries.
The earthquake struck 80 kilometers northwest of the capital Kathmandu, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but the tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi, Dhaka and Pakistan’s Punjab region.
The worst hit region has been the Kathmandu Valley, where at least 630 people have been found dead and figures are expected to rise as victims are dug out from under collapsed buildings.
