The Bulgarian Who Died on Tian Shan Mountain Was BNT's Chief Engineer

The Bulgarian who died on Mount Han Tengri in Tian Shan Mountain, on the border between China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, was Ivan Todorov, the chief engineer of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT).

The incident happened on 8 August around 00:20. Upon descent from the top, at an altitude of 6,200 meters, Ivan fell though 600 meters onto rocks and died.

Rescuers who arrived at the scene reported that the death resulted from traumas caused by the fall.

Ivan Todorov was one of the most experienced engineers in the Bulgarian National Television.

He worked on the technical development of the news broadcasting complex and played a key part in preparing all BNT studios at the last five Olympic Games.

Ivan had two passions in his life - the high technologies and the high mountains. His dreams were two - Bulgarian National Television to be on a world and European level and to climb the highest mountain on the planet – mount Everest.

Ivan was a top professional at both software development and technical support. BNT specialists are certain that the public broadcaster would not have been the same and at that technological level without Ivan's work.

A professional to the marrow of the bones, as BNT’s chief producer of Sports, Metodi Manchenko, described him.

Mountaineering was in his blood. His great dream was to climb Everest and believed that this could be achieved by first climbing a peak 7,000 metres high. Han Tengri is 6,995 metres high.

In 2015, he climbed Mont Blanc and in 2016 - Island Peak as part of his step-by-step preparation for Everest, which he was planning to do next year.

"May he rest in peace."