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A teenage boy who was rescued from a flooded Thai cave in 2018 has died in the UK after winning a scholarship at a Leicester football academy.
Duangpetch Promthep was among the 12 young football players on the Wild Boars team who became trapped by rising floodwaters for two weeks. They were eventually in a rescue operation that spanned almost 18 days.
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’.
The cause of Promthep’s death is currently unclear, but reports say the teenager, who was thought to be 18 when he died, suffered a head injury.
Promthep enrolled at 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.
He had excitedly shared photographs of his time in the UK on social media, with images of him in London and studying at college – one with the caption, ‘Don’t worry, dad. I will study hard. I won’t disappoint you.’
Another post read: ‘Today my dream came true. I’m going to be a football student in England.’
Duangpetch Promthep (pictured centre) was among the 12 young football players on the Wild Boars team who became trapped by rising floodwaters for two weeks
Last year marked Promthep’s first Christmas in the UK after moving to enroll at a Leicester football academy
Phromthep pictured with members of his Wild Boar football team following the rescue
After arriving in the UK, Promthep shared numerous snaps of his new life at the Leicester football academy.
Photos shared on his social media channels include snaps of him and his friends playing football as well as shots of him celebrating a ‘very cold first Christmas in the UK.’
Other photos show the teenager playing with his friends outside of lessons and visiting tourist sights like Tower Bridge in London.
In one picture taken shortly after accepting his scholarship, the teenager thanked his father for his support and said: ‘Don’t worry Dad, I’ll study hard.’
He wrote in a emotive post: ‘Today my dream came true. I’m going to be a football student in England.
‘I would like to thank sport education and Chico foundation for giving me a scholarship in England.
‘Thank you Brooke House College Football Academy for giving a scholarship to football development to children from other provinces like me.’
Promthep (pictured with his father) promised he would ‘study hard’ in the UK
Promthep shared a host of snaps taken whilst enrolled at the football academy
The teenager also shared pictures of him working hard in lessons in between his football training
Promthep (centre) pictured on a trip to London Bridge last year after moving to the UK
In another post, the young footballer urged those interested in pursuing further education to enquire about a place in his academy where he was coached by ‘Premier League referee Micky Adams.’
A keen football lover, Promthep had been the captain of the Wild Boars (Moo Pa in Thai).
He and his teammates ventured into the Tham Luang cave on June 23 2018, before they became trapped.
The boys were trapped in the complex from June 23 in 2018 for 18 days, before they were saved by a team of specialist divers, led by British expert Vernon Unsworth, 67 and Thai Navy SEALs.
Unsworth later sued billionaire Elon Musk for libel after the Tesla mogul branded him a ‘pedo’ during an online disagreement at the time of the rescue.
News of Promthep’s death came from his mother, who informed the Wat Doi Wao temple in in Chiang Rai, where he and the team were from.
Breaking the news of his death on Facebook, a Buddhist monk named Supatpong Methigo said they were informed of the tragic event by his grandmother.
The monk claims that the teenager hit his head and couldn’t be saved.
They said: ‘Duangphet Promthep has gone to a good place.’
MailOnline has reached out to the Brooke House College Football Academy for more information.
Phromthep was invited to the British embassy in Bangok by Deputy Ambassador Mr. Dave Thomas after receiving his football scholarship
The football mad teenager described it as a ‘dream’ to move to the UK and study
He wrote: ‘Today my dream came true. I’m going to be a football student in England.’
Promthep and his team’s rescue from the cave system is still a topic of national interest in Indonesia
The legacy of Promthep and his team’s rescue is still remarkably culturally relevant in Indonesia and part of the cave complex has been permanently dedicated to the rescue operation.
A pool known as the Emerald Pool where water from the cave rescue was pumped and a statue of a former Thai Navy SEAL who tragically died during the three-week rescue operation has since been promoted as tourist attractions by the Chiang Rai provincial public relations office.
Saman Kunan, a 37-year-old former Thai Navy Seal, tragically died of asphyxiation during the rescue operation while delivering oxygen to the trapped football team.
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