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Ex-Navy Seal dies in Thai cave rescue: official
MAE SAI, Thailand, July 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A former military diver has
died after running out of oxygen while assisting in the rescue of 12 boys and
their football coach trapped inside a cave in Thailand, an official said
Friday.
His death highlights the perils of the operation to extract the team from
deep inside the waterlogged cave, raising questions about the feasibility of
bringing youngsters out the same way.
“A former Seal who volunteered to help died last night about 2am,” Chiang
Rai deputy governor Passakorn Boonyaluck told reporters at the site, calling
it “sad news.”
The diver, identified as Saman Kunont, was coming back from a spot inside
the Tham Luang cave where the group were located on Monday when his supplies
ran short.
“On his way back he lost consciousness,” said Thai Seal commander Apakorn
Yookongkaew, adding that a friend had tried to help bring him out.
“But even though we have lost one man, we still have faith to carry out our
work.”
Asked how the boys could make it out safely if an experienced diver could
not, Apakorn said they would take more precautions with children.
The accident marks the first major setback for the gargantuan effort, which
started almost two weeks ago after the “Wild Boars” team went into the cave
in northern Thailand after football practice.
BSS/AFP/MRI/0952 hrs