Sports figures have been mourning the loss of 17-year-old Duangphet "Dom" Phromthep, the captain of the "Wild Boars" football team who survived a perilous cave rescue in Chiang Rai in 2018 only to pass away at a football academy in the United Kingdom on Tuesday.
Duangphet's body was found on Sunday, and he died at a hospital several days later. Amid media reports that he fell and struck his head in a bathroom, the cause of death has yet to be revealed.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul expressed her grief and reflected on her time with the young athlete.
"My tears fell when I first heard the news. The IOC once took the 13 members of the Wild Boars academy to the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. We had the opportunity to connect with them and introduced them to many Youth Olympic athletes. I would like to offer my condolences to Dom's parents and family," she said.
At the Summer Youth Olympic Games 2018 in Buenos Aires, the Wild Boars Academy joined the opening ceremony and was honoured by the IOC president Thomas Bach.
Moreover, during their stay in the Argentine capital, Khunying Patama introduced the Wild Boars members to president Mauricio Macri and vice president Gabriela Michetti.
They also had the opportunity to meet Prince Albert II of Monaco who is a member of the IOC.
On their return to Thailand, Khunying Patama took the team to meet Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at Government House.
Thani Thongphakdi, the Thai ambassador to the United Kingdom, said Duangphet's body had been sent to the HM Coroner's Office for Leicester City and South Leicestershire for postmortem.
The embassy has arranged funeral prayers from Feb 16-18 at Wat Mahathat in Kings Bromley, Staffordshire, as requested by the family.