One of the 12 boys who made international headlines in 2018 after being dramatically rescued following two weeks trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand died in the UK on Sunday 12th February 2023.
Duangpetch Promthep, better known as “Dom”, was captain of the “Wild Boars” team whose seemingly impossible extraction by international divers and Thai navy SEALs captured huge global attention.
The cause of his death is unknown, but Leicestershire Police have said that it is not being treated as suspicious. Reports in Thailand suggest that he suffered a head injury.
Promthep was taken by ambulance to Kettering General Hospital on Sunday afternoon, and an air ambulance was also sent to the scene, according to a spokesperson for the East Midlands Ambulance Service.
The news was first shared on social media by a Buddhist monk who taught the boys in Thailand’s northern Chiang Rai province. “Duangpetch Promthep has now gone to another world,” Supatpong Methigo posted on Facebook. “I hope he will be reborn and become my student again in the next life.”
Former Thai national team captain and coach, Kiatisuk Senamuang, whose foundation had helped Duangpetch secure a scholarship at the Brooke House College Football Academy in Leicestershire, also expressed his sadness at the news. He described Duangpetch as a polite, kind gentleman who had dreams of playing for his country. “I wanted to see his dream realized… but rest well now Dom,” he posted on Instagram.
In June 2018, Duangpetch and his teammates, aged between 11 and 16, along with their 25-year-old assistant coach, had set off to explore the Tham Luang cave complex for just an hour but ended up trapped by floodwaters. They were found nine days later in a flooded chamber 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) from the caves’ entrance. Their complicated extraction began six days later in an unprecedented operation during which a retired Thai diver died.
Once rescued, the boys were invited to attend a Manchester United match, and their story was the subject of books, documentaries, and films, including the recent Netflix series “Thai Cave Rescue.”
