SANTIAGO, Chile – Douglas Tompkins, the co-founder of The North Face and Esprit clothing companies who bought up large swaths of land in South America’s Patagonia region to keep them pristine, has died from severe hypothermia in a kayaking accident in Chile.
The well-known conservationist was 72.
The Aysen health service said the wealthy businessman and lifelong outdoorsman was boating with five other foreigners on Tuesday when their kayaks capsized in a lake in near freezing waters in the Patagonia region of southern Chile. Tompkins died later in the intensive care unit of the hospital in Coyhaique, a town 1,700 kilometres (1,056 miles) south of Santiago.
“He had lost consciousness and wasn’t breathing” when brought to the hospital by helicopter, Dr. Carlos Salazar told local television stations.
Chile’s army said strong waves on General Carrerra Lake caused the group’s kayaks to capsize. A military patrol boat rescued three of the boaters and a helicopter lifted out the other three, it said.
“Doug was a passionate advocate for the environment,” The North Face said in a statement. “His legacy of conservation will help ensure that there are outdoor spaces to be explored for generations to come.”
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