72 Year Old Douglas Tompkins, the Co-Founder of North Face and Esprit Dies in Kayaking Accident in Chile

Douglas Tompkins, the co-founder of North Face and Esprit, died on Tuesday after a kayaking accident on General Carrera Lake in the Patagonia region of southern Chile. According to reports, his death was confirmed by the Coyhaique Regional Hospital where he was flown to after the kayaking accident with severe hypothermia.

Douglas Tompkins, a noted conservationist and the founder of the clothing brands North Face and Esprit, died on Tuesday after a kayaking accident on General Carrera Lake in the Patagonia region of southern Chile. He was 72.

His death was confirmed by Coyhaique Regional Hospital, where Mr. Tompkins was flown with severe hypothermia.

The health service in the Aysén administrative region said Mr. Tompkins was boating with five others when their kayaks capsized. Mr. Tompkins died in the intensive care unit of the hospital in Coyhaique, a town more than 1,000 miles south of Santiago.

Chile’s army said strong waves on the 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. No one else was seriously injured.

Wealthy environmentalist Tompkins dies in Chile accident.

The Aysen health service said Tompkins, who was a co-founder of The North Face and Esprit clothing companies, was boating with five other foreigners when their kayaks capsized in a lake in the Patagonia region of southern Chile. Tompkins died in the intensive care unit of the hospital in Coyhaique, a town 1,700 kilometers (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.

After retiring in 1989, Tompkins was active in conservation and environmentalism. He owned hundreds of thousands of hectares (acres) in Patagonia, a sparsely populated region of untamed rivers and other natural beauty that straddles southern Chile and Argentina. On his Chilean land, he created Pumalin Park, 290,000 hectares (716,606 acres) of forest, lakes and fjords stretching from the Andes to the Pacific.

“Doug was a passionate advocate for the environment,” said The North Face 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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