Bangkok – An elite military officer of the Royal Thai Navy who participated in the dramatic rescue of 12 children and their coach soccer from a flooded cave died from a blood infection that he contracted during the risky operation, authorities said.
First-class Baymaster Pakro Pakbara was receiving treatment, but his health worsened after the infection passed into the bloodstream, according to an announcement on the Navy SEAL page on Facebook.
He is the second Navy diver to lose his life after the outstanding operation in which the children and the coach were extracted from the depths of the cave complex in the north of the country, where they were trapped two weeks in June and July last year .
Corvette captain Saman Gunan passed away while resupplying oxygen tanks on July 6, 2018.
According to the Bangkok Post, Pakbara was buried Friday at Talosai Mosque in the southern province of Satun. His mother said his son had been in the hospital intermittently since the rescue, according to local media.
The children and their coach entered the Tham Luang cave complex after a soccer practice and quickly got trapped inside due to a flood. Although a massive search was conducted, the boys spent nine days inside the cave without knowing about them until an expert diver found them. It took eight more days for everyone to be safe.
A team of divers guided each of the children out of the cave on special stretchers. The operation required placing oxygen containers along the route in which divers maneuvered in dark, narrow and winding passages filled with muddy water and intense currents.
