The missing British man, feared dead after a boating accident at Santa Clara reservoir, is a friend of the son of Foxton’s founder, Jon Hunt.(pictured)
Richard Chapelow, 29, fell from an inflatable 'banana boat' that was being towed at high speed by others in a party of ten people staying at the billionaire Jon Hunt's Alentejo villa. Three others were on the banana boat when it flipped over, but they survived. Chapelow failed to surface.
Specialist divers have been searching the deep waters for Chapelow's body after he disappeared. Emergency services were alerted just before 5pm on Monday.
Chapelow (pictured on Facebook, below left) worked in marketing and advertising at the Columns advertising and branding agency having attended Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, London and graduating from Leeds University.
A statement from Jon Hunt sent to MailOnline read, “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.'
There is no hope that Chapelow is alive and the search coordinator said on Tuesday that the divers now are looking for a body but are hampered by poor visibility and a depth of over 30 metres.
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. In a worst case scenario it could take days to find the missing man's body.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said, “We are assisting the family of a British man reported missing in Portugal and are in contact with the local authorities.”
John Hunt, 65, founded the Foxtons estate agency in 1981, selling it for £375 million in 2007 and has other business interests including Pavilion, a business members' club in Kensington High Street. He is worth over £1 billion.
It is understood that Chapelow was staying with Jon Hunt's son Harry at the billionaire's luxury villa when the accident happened.
