Kolkata, June 1 (IANS): Veteran mountaineer Amulya Sen died at his south Kolkata residence on Friday night following a cardiac arrest, family sources said on Saturday.

Sen, who was in his early 80s, is survived by wife and a daughter.

Sen's love for mountaineering grew after he attended the basic and advance mountaineering courses at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling in 1960-61.

He was the leader of Nilgiri Parvat expedition in Garhwal and made the first ascent of the peak in 1962. He also participated in pre-Everest expeditions to Panchachulli in Kumun Himalaya and Mt Rathong in Sikkim Himalaya in 1964.

He made the first Indian ascent of Chandra in 1965. He was also the leader of an expedition to Mt Everest in 1993.

Sen later led scores of expeditions from West Bengal to various mountains in the Himalaya, and rock climbing and adventure camps in West Bengal.

Sen was decorated with National Adventure Award (now known as Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award) by the Indian government, Tenzing Award by the government of West Bengal and Life Time Achievement Awards by different organisations for his contributions to mountaineering and adventure sports in the country.