Duangpetch Promthep rescued from Thai cave dies  after ‘sustaining head injury’, five years after he and teammates survived 18 days in flooded cave

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Duangpetch Promthep rescued from Thai cave dies  after ‘sustaining head injury’, five years after he and teammates survived 18 days in flooded cave

A teenage boy who was rescued from a Thai cave in 2018 in a rescue operation that spanned almost 18 days has died in the UK after travelling to the country to play football. 

Duangpetch Promthep, who was thought to be 18 when he died, was among the 12 young football players on the Wild Boars team who became trapped by rising floodwaters for two weeks.

Their story and eventual rescue by a team of nearly 100 divers gripped global attention and his since spawned multiple films including 2022’s ‘Thirteen Lives’.

Promthep (centre) pictured on a trip to London Bridge last year after moving to the UK

The cause of Promthep’s death is currently unclear, but reports say the teenager suffered a head injury.

He enrolled in the Brooke House College Football Academy in Leicester late in 2022 when he was 17 after winning a ‘dream’ scholarship to study in the UK.