Captain of Thai 'cave boys' football team dies aged 17

Duangpetch Promthep, better known as Dom, was captain of the Wild Boars team whose rescue captured global attention in 2018.

Duangphet "Dom" Phromthep, one of the young footballers rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand in 2018, has died aged 17. Source: AAP / Sakchai Lalit/AP

Key Points

• One of the 12 boys rescued after two weeks trapped in a flooded Thailand cave in 2018 has died aged 17.
• Duangpetch Promthep, better known as Dom, was captain of the Wild Boars football team.
• The circumstances of the 17-year-old's death were not immediately clear.

One of 12 boys dramatically rescued after two weeks trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018 has died in Britain where he was attending a football academy.

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 the 17-year-old's death were not immediately clear.

The news on Wednesday 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 Mr Supatpong said he learned of from Promthep's grandmother, who said he had suffered an unspecified accident in Britain.

Former Thai national team captain and coach, Kiatisuk Senamuang, whose foundation helped Promthep secure a scholarship at the Brooke House College Football Academy in Leicestershire, described him as a polite, kind gentleman who dreamed 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 an hour and became trapped by flood waters.

Eight Australian divers were involved in the international rescue mission to retrieve the boys and their coach from the Thai cave. Source: Twitter / Twitter @JulieBishopMP

They were found nine days later in a flooded chamber four kilometres 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.