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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 circumstances of 17-year-old Duangpetch's death were not
immediately clear. The news was 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."
Reuters could not independently confirm the death, which
Supatpong said he learned of from Duangpetch's grandmother, who
said he had suffered an unspecified accident in Britain.
Former Thai national team captain and coach, Kiatisuk Senamuang,
whose foundation helped Duangpetch secure a scholarship at the
Brooke House College Football Academy in Leicestershire,
described him as a polite, kind gentleman who dreamt of playing
for his country.
"I wanted to see his dream realised ... but rest well now Dom,"
he posted on Instagram.
In June 2018, the boys, aged 11-16 and their 25-year-old
assistant coach set off to explore the Tham Luang cave complex
for just an hour, but ended up trapped by flood waters.
They were found nine days later in a flooded chamber 4
kilometres (2.5 miles) from the entrance of the caves. Their
complicated extraction started 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, and most recently, the Netflix series
"Thai Cave Rescue".
(Reporting by Juarawee Kittisilpa and Panu Wongcha-um; Writing
by Martin Petty; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
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