Brit feared dead in Portugal ‘hit his head and lost consciousness’ as banana boat flipped while on holiday with son of Foxtons billionaire
Emergency services continue to hunt for Richard Chapelow, who was reportedly thrown from a banana boat on the Santa Clara Dam at about 5pm yesterday
A FAMILY friend of the founder of Foxtons is feared to have been killed after hitting his head while being towed on an inflatable banana boat in Portugal.
Authorities believe Brit Richard Chapelow, 29, may have been knocked unconscious after being thrown from the inflatable while holidaying with Foxtons boss Jon Hunt's son.
Billionaire Mr Hunt is a real estate magnate who built the Foxton's property empire from scratch in the early 1980s.
A source at the GNR police force said: "We don’t know what happened but we suspect that the banana boat the missing man was on turned over and he may have hit his head and lost consciousness and wasn’t able to swim back to the surface.
“We don’t have much hope now. The search and rescue mission continues, over a wider area now than before, but it is a search mission for a body."
It was also reported that Richard was staying at Mr Hunt's Portugal holiday home at the time of his death.
Last night the 65-year-old Foxtons founder said: "My family and I are devastated by the loss of Richard, following a tragic accident at Santa Clara Dam.
"Our thoughts and prayers are wholly with Richard’s family, and we ask that both families are given space to grieve such a painful loss.
"We will be working closely with the Portuguese authorities to understand what has happened, and are grateful to the local police and fire services for their efforts. It is a time of great sorrow.”
Specialist fire service divers were last night still searching for Richard after he disappeared at the dam near the city of Ourique, just over an hour’s drive north of the Algarve resort of Portimao.
The alarm was raised just before 5pm local time on Monday.
Initial reports said he was one of three Brits in a boat that overturned on the dam, once the largest artificial lake in the country and a popular destination for fishing enthusiasts as well as fans of water sports.
Bright, fun-loving Richard from Stamford Brook, West London, had been working as a senior account manager at a London property firm after a stint as a marketing executive.
Prior to that he attended the £19,000-a-year Latymer Upper School and then gained an arts degree at Leeds University.
Yesterday the fire chief leading the search said they were likely looking for a body.
Commander Mario Batista said: "The search teams know they are probably looking for a body at this stage but it may be time before there is any news.
"Visibility is very poor and the water has a depth of up to 104 feet in the deepest places. In a worst case scenario it could take days to find the missing man's body."
Essex-born Mr Hunt founded Foxtons in 1981 and is now worth just over £1billion - after selling the company for £375 million at the height of the property boom in May 2007.
The dad-of-four is a collector of supercars including vintage Ferraris, and has two daughters called Georgie and Emma and two grown-up sons called Harry and Max.
Richard’s distraught parents - solicitor father John, 67, and 66-year-old mother Jacqueline - were unavailable for comment last night.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: "We are assisting the family of a British man reported missing in Portugal, and are in contact with the local authorities."
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