Douglas Tompkins, known for being one of the founders of North Face, has died in a kayaking accident in the Patagonia region of Chile, according to USA Today. Tompkins, 72, was reportedly kayaking with five other people on General Carrera Lake when they lost control of their boats. Strong waves led to the group capsizing and unable to return to their kayaks, with authorities sending patrol boats and helicopters to rescue them, according to The New York Times.
Tompkins was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Coyhaique with hypothermia but had stopped breathing by the time he arrived, according to the BBC. None of the others involved in the accident were seriously injured, according to USA Today.
"We are all deeply saddened by the news of Doug Tompkin's passing,", North Face said in a statement on their Facebook page. "He was a passionate advocate for the environment, and his legacy of conservation is one that we hope to help continue in the work we do every day."
Tompkins is known primarily for his retail success but his dedication to conservation and environment advocacy is widely recognized. He had purchased amounts of land in Chilean and Argentine Patagonia in order to preserve them and create protected areas, according to the BBC. One such area, Pumalín Park, is considered to be one of the world's largest private nature reserves.
As well as North Face and Espirit, Tompkins also started a group called The Foundation for Deep Ecology, an environmentally-minded organization that believes that "individuals who recognize the great unraveling of natural and human communities across the globe have a responsibility to act to stop it."
Tompkins was in the process of creating more parks in Chile and Argentina when he died, according to an interview between NPR and Tom Butler, the editorial projects director at the Foundation for Deep Ecology.
