The ashes of Duangpetch Promthep, the late Thai footballer from the 2018 cave rescue operation, have finally returned home from the United Kingdom.
Duangpetch passed away on 14 Feb in his dorm room in Leicestershire, where he was on a scholarship, after he reportedly suffered a head injury. He was only 17.
Shortly following his tragic passing, his mother appealed for help to bring his body back to Thailand, as his family was not able to afford the costs.
Due to financial reasons, it was decided that Duangpetch will be cremated, before his ashes are returned to Thailand.
His ashes are now finally with his family after about two weeks.
The ashes reached the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on Saturday (4 Mar). According to Thai outlet The Nation, they were blessed by a Thai Buddhist monk upon their return from the UK.
Duangpetch’s funeral and cremation took place last Tuesday (28 Feb).
The Nation reported that the rite was attended by his friends, teachers, Zico Foundation chairman and Thai football hero Kiatisuk ‘Zico’ Senamuang, as well as Thailand’s ambassador to the UK, Thani Thongphakdi.
The promising footballer was accompanied on his last journey home by Mr Kiatisuk. The Thai Airways flight arrived in Bangkok on Saturday morning. There, his family awaited, having travelled down from the north of the country.
Source: The Nation
Upon the ashes’ arrival at the airport, the assistant abbot of Bangkok’s Arun Ratchawararam Temple, Phra Sopon Wachiraporn, blessed the boy’s remains.
In a separate report by the Associated Press, the last prayers for Duangpetch started on Saturday night and will go on for the next few days at Phra That Doi Wao Temple in Chiang Rai.
His shrine was decorated with 17 footballs, each one representing his age.
Source: Associated Press
Duangpetch’s ashes will be released into waters on Monday, in Chiang Rai’s Chiang Saen district.
The promising footballer was in England on a scholarship following the dramatic cave rescue in 2018. He had been studying at the Brooke House College Football Academy in Leicestershire since August last year when tragedy struck.
He was found unconscious in his dorm room and passed two days later, presumably due to a head injury.
Although his exact cause of death is unclear, it is currently not classified as suspicious.
Following his mother’s appeal for help bringing her son’s ashes back to Thailand, the family requested for his body to be cremated in the UK due to financial reasons.
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Featured image adapted from The Nation and Associated Press.
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