The young footballer, who died in England this week after his team were dramatically rescued from a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018, is said to have sustained a head injury in a fall.
Duangpetch “Dom” Promthep of Team Wild Boars was one of 12 players trapped with their coach in Tham Luang Cave during an unexpected rainstorm in June 2018.
On Wednesday, the 17-year-old was found unconscious in his dormitory at the football academy he had been attending in Leicestershire since late 2022, the BBC reported. He later died at a local hospital.
The BBC, citing Thai media, said reports indicated Promthep had sustained a head injury.
CAPTAIN OF BOYS’ FOOTBALL TEAM RESCUED IN THAILAND CAVE IN 2018, DEATH AT 17
Relatives of Duangphet “Dom” Phromthep, one of the boys rescued from the flooded cave in northern Thailand, greet him as he arrives home in Mae Sai district, northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province, July 18, 2018. (AP Photo/ Sakchai Lalit, file.)
The head of a monastery in Chiang Rai told the Bangkok Post Promthep’s mother called him around 6am local time on Wednesday to tell him her son had died.
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In this handout photo released by Tham Luang Rescue Operation Center, Thai rescue teams go into the cave complex during the rescue on July 2, 2018. (Tham Luang Rescue Operation Center via AP)
Phra Khu Prayut Jetiyanukarn told the newspaper that initial reports said the former soccer team captain suffered an accident and could not survive despite being on ventilators in the hospital.
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Thai soldiers carry a water pump to drain the cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach went missing in Mae Sai in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province. (AP)
An autopsy is reportedly ongoing.
Leicestershire Police told the BBC that Promthep’s death was not considered suspicious.