Boy who was rescued from Thai cave dies in UK: Captain of football team which was trapped in cave for two weeks dies after ‘sustaining a head injury’
- Duangpetch Promthep was among the 12 boys who became trapped in 2018
- His cause of death is currently unclear but reports say he sustained a head injury
A boy who was rescued from a Thai cave in 2018 has died in the UK.
Duangpetch Promthep was among the 12 young football players on the Wild Boars team who became trapped by rising floodwaters for two weeks.
Their story and eventual rescue by a team of nearly 100 divers gripped global attention.
The cause of Promthep’s death is currently unclear, but reports say the teenager suffered a head injury. He enrolled in the Brooke House College Football Academy in Leicester late in 2022 when he was 17.
Promthep was the captain of the Wild Boards (Moo Pa in Thai).
Duangpetch Promthep (pictured centre) was among the 12 young football players on the Wild Boars team who became trapped by rising floodwaters for two weeks
Last year marked Promthep’s first Christmas in the UK after moving to enroll at a Leicester football academy
He and his teammates ventured into the Tham Luang cave on June 23 2018, before they became trapped.
The boys were trapped in the complex from June 23 in 2018 for 18 days, before they were saved by a team of specialist divers, led by British experts and Thai Navy SEALs.
It has been reported that following the cave rescue, Promthep came to the UK to play football, enrolling at Leicester’s Brooke House College Football Academy.
News of his death came from his mother, who informed the Wat Doi Wao temple in in Chiang Rai, where he and the team were from.
Breaking the news of his death on Facebook, a Buddhist monk named Supatpong Methigo said they were informed of the tragic event by his grandmother.
The monk claims that the teenager hit his head and couldn’t be saved.
They said: ‘Duangphet Phromthep has gone to a good place.’
MailOnline has reached out to the Brooke House College Football Academy for more information.
Phromthep pictured with members of his Wild Boar football team following the rescue
Promthep and his team were left in the cave for over a week
Promthep was invited to the British embassy in Bangok after the ordeal
It is currently unclear how the teenager died
After arriving in the UK, Promthep shared numerous snaps of his new life in Leicester football academy.
Photos shared on his social media channels include snaps of him and his friends playing football as well as shots of him celebrating a ‘very cold first Christmas in the UK.’
Other photos show the teenager playing with his friends outside of lessons and visiting tourist sights like Tower Bridge in London/
In one post, the young footballer urged those interested in pursuing further education to enquire about a place in the Brooke House College Football Academy where he was coached by ‘Premier League referee Micky Adams.’
The legacy of Promthep and his team’s rescue is still remarkably culturally relevant in Indonesia and part of the cave complex has been permanently dedicated to the rescue operation.
A pool known as the Emerald Pool where water from the cave rescue was pumped and a statue of a former Thai Navy SEAL who tragically died during the three-week rescue operation has since been promoted as tourist attractions by the Chiang Rai provincial public relations office.
Saman Kunan, a 37-year-old former Thai Navy Seal, tragically died of asphyxiation during the rescue operation while delivering oxygen to the trapped football team.