CHIANG RAI, Thailand — The cremated ashes of one of many 12 boys rescued from a flooded collapse 2018 arrived on Saturday within the far northern Thai province of Chiang Rai, the place Buddhist rites for his funeral will probably be held over the following few days following his dying within the U.Okay.

Duangphet “Dom” Phromthep, 17, was discovered unconscious in his room on Feb. 12 on the Brooke Home School Soccer Academy in Leicestershire and was taken to a hospital, the place he died two days later.

His physique was cremated earlier this week within the U.Okay. with Buddhist monks performing rites on the ceremony in accordance along with his household’s needs. The household watched a dwell video stream of the funeral within the U.Okay. from Chiang Rai.

Duangphet’s ashes have been handed over to his household at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Saturday morning earlier than they boarded a flight to Chiang Rai.

Others waited on the Chiang Rai airport, together with his grandparents who burst into tears after they have been handed a small field containing his ashes. His former coach Ekapol Chanthawong, who was additionally trapped within the cave with him, held a big portrait of his former pupil.

The Thai funeral for Duangphet will happen at Wat Phra That Doi Wao, lower than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Tham Luang Cave, the place Dom, alongside along with his teammates and coach, have been trapped for greater than two weeks in 2018 earlier than they have been safely guided out by a staff of knowledgeable divers.