Captain of boys' football team rescued from Thailand cave in 2018 dies

One of the 12 Thai youth footballers who was rescued from a Thai cave in 2018 has died in the UK, his school has confirmed.

The teenager had come to England to study at Brooke House College, a specialist sports school in Leicestershire.

Duangphet Phromthep, known as Dom, died on Tuesday in hospital, Brooke House College confirmed on Wednesday.

Dom was captain of the Wild Boars football team, which became trapped in the Tham Luang cave system in Chiang Rai, Thailand, in June 2018, capturing the attention of the world.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ian Smith, principal at the college, said: “Brooke House College is devastated to confirm the passing of our student, Duangphet Phromthep, known as Dom, yesterday in hospital.

“This event has left our college community deeply saddened and shaken.

“We unite in grief with all of Dom’s family, friends, former teammates and those involved in all parts of his life, as well as everyone affected in any way by this loss in Thailand and throughout the college’s global family.

“The college is liaising with statutory authorities and the Royal Thai Embassy in London, and dedicating all resources to assist our student body, as they as young people process Dom’s passing.

“Beyond that, we are unable to comment further at this time and would ask for privacy and compassion as we continue to support the students in our care at this time, drawing on the kindness and assistance of the Market Harborough community.”

The cause of Dom’s death has not been confirmed, but the BBC also reported that Leicestershire Police had said the death was not suspicious.

The force has been contacted for comment.

Khaosod, a Thai daily newspaper, said on their English language social media channels that the teenager’s death was confirmed by a monk who taught him in Chiang Rai province in Thailand on Wednesday.

The Wild Boars, or Moo Pa in Thai, became trapped in the caves in 2018 after a sudden storm caused flooding which blocked the exit.

The story of the dozen boys and their football coach who got trapped in the cave and risked being drowned by rising floodwaters gripped the attention of the world.

The boys, then aged between 11 and 16, and their coach, then aged 25, spent nine days in darkness without food before being found by an international search and rescue effort involving around 10,000 people.

Dom turned 13 while he was trapped in the cave, with the group spending 18 days inside the caves before being rescued.

The only way of extracting the children involved injecting them with ketamine, putting diving gear on them and escorting them underwater for two and a half hours.

Expert British cave divers John Volanthen and Rick Stanton led the rescue effort and have told ITV News about the mammoth effort.

Mr Stanton said at the time: "You really couldn't see your hand there so we were doing it by feel or dead reckoning and judgement.

"Not knowing what you're going to encounter, whether that's children's bodies, that definitely added pressure."

Mr Volanthen said: "That responsibility of taking a child where if anything had happened to the mask that was keeping their face dry then the child would have unquestionably have drowned."

The operation was considered extremely dangerous at the time and a Thai Navy SEAL died while diving in the cave.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know