ONE of the 12 boys rescued from a Thai cave in 2018 has died in the UK.
Duangpetch Promthep, 18, was part of the young football team who became trapped inside a flooded cave for 17 days before they were retrieved in a dramatic rescue mission.
2Duangpetch Promthep has died in the UKCredit: Getty
2A huge team of rescue workers battled to save the youngsters from the Tham Luang caves in 2018Credit: AFPIt is understood Duangpetch – also known as Dom – has died after sustaining a head injury, according to reports.
Duangpetch, who was 13 at the time of the incident in 2018, said his “dream had come true” when he signed up for the Brooke House College Football Academy in Leicester last year.
Supatpong Methigo, a Buddhist monk who taught him, said Duangpetch’s grandmother told him he had died in an accident.
Methigo claims the teen hit his head and could not be saved.
Paying tribute, he said: “Duangphet Phromthep has gone to a good place. May the soul rest in peace.”
Duangpetch was the captain of the Wild Boards, the team that became trapped along with their coach after venturing into the Tham Luang caves in June 2018.
Monsoon flooding cut off their escape and prevented rescuers from finding them for almost ten days.
The world watched on as a team of 90 expert divers – 40 from Thailand and 50 from overseas – battled in the caves to get them out safely.
Divers guided the boys – aged between 11 and 16 years old – and their coach through darkness and narrow passageways towards the entrance to the cave system.
After a three-day rescue mission, the brave lads were treated by medics following their nightmare stint in the tunnel network in Chiang Rai.
Wearing full-face masks, which are easier for novice divers, each boy was accompanied by two divers, who also carried his air supply.
The toughest part of the escape was at a section named “T-Junction” or “choke spot”, which was so tight that the divers had to take off their air tanks to get through.
All 12 of the boys were rescued in stages between July 8 and July 10, when the final four boys and coach emerged to safety.
Story Credit: thesun.co.uk