Douglas Tompkins, 72, passed away after a kayak capsized.
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The Aysten health service stated the 72-year-old Tompkins, who was a co-founder of The North Face & Esprit clothing corporations, was boating with 5 different foreigners when their kayaks capsized in a lake within the Patagonia region of southern Chile.
Though three of the other kayakers made it safely to land, Tompkins and two others remained in the water until officials from the Chilean Navy arrived to rescue them, according to news reports. Mr Selgado said Mr Tompkins spent a “considerable amount of time in waters under four degrees Celsius”.
Tompkins was one of the founders of The North Face, which began as asmall ski and backpacking retail and mail order operation before it was bought out by VF Corp.in 2000.
“We are all deeply saddened at the news of Doug’s passing”.
Mr Tompkins founded the American outdoor clothing and camping label The North Face in 1964 with a partner. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital and treated for hypothermia, but died later in the day, according to a staff member of Conservacion Patagonica, Tompkins’s wife’s conservation non-profit. “Doug was a passionate advocate for the environment, and his legacy of conservation will help ensure that there are outdoor spaces to be explored for generations to come”, the company said in a statement.
Tompkins also owned thousands of acres of land in Patagonia after retiring in 1989 and focusing on conservation and environmentalism. He also founded, with his wife, the Esprit clothing company.
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He worked to create a string of nature parks, and donated 8,000 square kilometers (3,000 square miles) to Chile and Argentina to help preserve a forest region on their border.
