Doug Tompkins, 72, was pulled from the water in Chile after his kayak capsized, but he later died from hypothermia.
Kris and Doug Tompkins
Tompkins Conservation / Via tompkinsconservation.org
The North Face co-founder Doug Tompkins died Tuesday after his kayak capsized in freezing waters in Patagonia, Chile, the outdoor gear company said.
Tompkins, 72, was with a group of five other people when the kayak capsized. Chile's army said there were strong waves at the time, which caused the boats to flip, the Associated Press reported.
Rescue crews pulled the six people from the water — three by boat and three airlifted by helicopter. The New York Times reported Tompkins was brought to Coyhaique Regional Hospital with "severe hypothermia." He later died there.
"We are all deeply saddened at the news of Doug's passing," The North Face said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. "Douglas Tompkins helped forge The North Face's mantra to Never Stop Exploring from our very beginnings in 1966 when he opened The North Face as a small ski and backpacking retail operation in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood."
Tompkins, who also co-founded the Esprit clothing company, left the industry in 1989 to devote his time being an environmental activist and conservationist.
He and his wife Kris Tompkins, the former CEO of the Patagonia outdoor clothing company, bought over 2 million acres in the Patagonia region in Chile and Argentina and turned it into conservation land, according to the National Geographic.
He also launched Tompkins Conservation, which is dedicated to creating parklands and preserving habitat.
This January 2010 photo shows Magellan penguins dotting the shoreline of a rookery at Monte Leon National Park, Argentina. The former sheep ranch was purchased in 2001 through a donation made by Doug and Kris Tompkins.
Thomas Watkins / AP
BuzzFeed News reached out to Tompkins Conservation for additional information.
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