Thai ambassador to UK attends football captain ‘Dom’s’ funeral

Thailand’s ambassador to the UK joined the funeral service for Duangphet Phromthep, or “Dom,” who was captain of the Thai football team that was rescued from a cave.

The Royal Thai Embassy said Ambassador Thani Thongphakdi attended yesterday’s funeral along with students and teachers from Dom’s school, the CEO of Leicester City Football Club and others. The embassy says Buddhist monks performed rites at the ceremony “in accordance with family wishes.”

Dom’s mother had previously requested a monk to perform the rites so that her son’s spirit would not be trapped.

The death of Dom came as a shock to the world as the 17 year old was listed as healthy before he travelled to the UK on a football scholarship.

According to Fox News, Dom was found unconscious in his room on February 12 at Brooke House College Football Academy in Leicestershire, central England. He passed away two days later.

Although his cause of death was listed as unknown, rumours swirled that he had fallen and hit his head. Police say his cause of death was not believed to be suspicious, but his passing left the world shocked.

The Embassy says the Zico Foundation sponsored Dom’s studies in England and is facilitating the repatriation of his remains to his family back in Thailand.

Dom was the captain of the Wild Boars youth soccer team in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Rai. Dom and his teammates were aged 11 to 16 when they became trapped in the flooded cave named Tham Luang.

The team became famous as the world watched a dramatic rescue operation unfold. They were rescued by an international team of expert divers after being stuck for more than two weeks in the cave.

Movies and documentaries followed the dramatic rescue which left observers in awe of the cooperation between multiple countries to rescue the young boys.