The death of Dom Duangpet Phromthep, 17, of a Thai student at the Brooke House college football academy in Bangkok
BANGKOK — One of the 12 boys rescued from a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018 after being trapped for more than two weeks has died in England, where he was attending a sports academy, the foundation sponsoring his studies said Wednesday.
Th northern regional branch of the Thai government’s public relations arm said on Facebook that Phromthep, 17, died due to an accident, without providing more details.
Zico Foundation, a Thai non-profit organization which had helped Phromthep study in the UK via a soccer scholarship, wrote on Facebook Wednesday: “Zico Foundation would like to express our sorrow for the pass of Dom Duangpet Phromthep, a scholarship student from Zico foundation,” posting a picture of Phromthep.
CNN reached out to The Brooke House College Football Academy, where the man was accepted on a football scholarship. The Academy said it would be releasing a statement.
Rescuers have to swim through submerged holes to hold the oxygen tanks in front of the boys. Having completed this section, the boys were then handed over to separate, specialist rescue teams, who helped assist them through the remainder of the cave, much of which they could wade through.
In a complicated three-day final operation, the boys were split into groups of four and provided with 5-millimeter-thick wetsuits, full face mask breathing apparatus and air bottles.
Phromthep, known as Dom, left the cave as part of the second group of boys carried out on more than two weeks after they were first trapped. He was one of three boys whose birthdays slipped by while they were deep underground. In his first message to his parents he implored them not to forget. The weather is cold but I am fine. But don’t worry,” he said. “Don’t forget my birthday,” he said.
The school principal said the college community was deeply sad and shook by the event. “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.”
In an online conference, the head of Zico Foundation, a former Thai national team captain and coach, said that he did not know the cause of death, but that Dom was in good health.
Dom was the captain of the Wild Boars, a youth soccer team. Twelve members of a team aged 11 to 16 and their coach were trapped in a cave in June of last year after flooding. A massive search and rescue operation was launched that involved international divers.
Dom’s mother, who joined the online news conference, said she hoped a Buddhist monk in England could conduct rites for Dom so his spirit would not be trapped where he died according to Buddhist beliefs.
The Legend of the Wild Boars in the Films of the 2022 Feature Film “Thirteen Lives” and “The Rescue”
The story of the Wild Boars, which was covered intensely by international media, has been retold in several movies, including Ron Howard’s 2022 feature film “Thirteen Lives” and the 2021 documentary “The Rescue.”