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Thai SEAL dies of blood infection a year after cave rescue

He is the second navy diver who lost his life in the high-profile operation last year that saw the boys and the coach extracted from deep inside the cave complex.
Credit: AP
In this June 26, 2018, file photo, emergency rescue teams gather in the staging area as they continue the search for a young soccer team and their coach believed to be missing in a large cave in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.

BANGKOK, Thailand — A Thai navy SEAL who was part of the dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave has died of a blood infection contracted during the risky operation. 

The Royal Thai Navy says Petty Officer 1st Class Bayroot Pakbara was receiving treatment but his condition worsened after the infection spread into his blood. 

He is the second navy diver who lost his life in the high-profile operation that saw the boys and the coach extracted from deep inside the northern cave complex, where they were trapped for two weeks in June-July last year.

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Credit: AP
In this June 26, 2018, file photo, emergency rescue teams gather in the staging area as they continue the search for a young soccer team and their coach believed to be missing in a large cave in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.

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