The body of Saman Gunan, a former Thai navy SEAL who died during an overnight mission, is carried during a repatriation and religious rites ceremony at Chiang Rai Airport in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand. Rescue efforts for a Thai soccer team trapped in a cave complex recently took a tragic turn: A former Thai navy diver died after running out of air while delivering oxygen tanks to the 12 boys and their coach underground. Retired Petty Officer Saman Gunan (also reported as "Kunan") was delivering air tanks to the stranded boys and their coach, who are in a subterranean chamber with oxygen levels running low, the BBC reported. To reach the boys, Gunan and other divers had to navigate recently flooded passageways in the Tham Luang cave complex, where the children have already been trapped for close to two weeks. But Gunan ran out of air on the way back to the surface. He was found unresponsive at 1 a.m. local time today (July 6) and was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died without regaining consciousness, according to the Bangkok Post. [The 7 Longest Caves in the World] Though Gunan had retired from navy service and was currently employed as an airport security officer, he volunteered to help rescue the boys and their coach, and he was one of 28 navy officers on the scene who are trained as specialists on sea, air and land (SEAL), the Bangkok Post reported. Gunan, an experienced diver, was placing oxygen tanks along a proposed exit route for the team, but his oxygen supply ran out as he navigated back to safety, according to The Washington Post. Even as Gunan's tragic death is mourned, rescue efforts for the trapped boys continue. Early this morning, ITV News in the U.K. tweeted a video of the rescue team in the tunnels, captured by a helmet camera. In the harrowing footage, rescuers progressed slowly in single file through low-ceilinged and flooded passageways where water in some places reached above their shoulders, gripping a lifeline attached to the cave wall overhead. See more Getting the boys out of the flooded cave system will require outfitting them with diving gear, but some of the children trapped in the cave are as young as 11, and none can swim, Live Science previously reported. (For the diving part of the escape, the kids will be assisted by adult divers and won't need to swim in the traditional sense.) Estimates from officials in Thailand had previously suggested that transporting everyone safely out of the cave complex could mean waiting as long as four months until the rainy season ended, according to the BBC. But with heavy monsoon rains expected on Sunday, waiting may no longer be an option, Rear Adm. Apakorn Yookongkaew, Thailand's navy SEAL commander, told the BBC. "At first, we thought the children could stay for a long time," Yookongkaew said. "But now things have changed; we have a limited time." Original article on Live Science.<doc-sep>Authorities are now working to get a 5km (3 mile) cable into the cave to supply the group with air. They are also trying to feed a fibre optic cable through to the group, to connect them to their families for the first time in nearly two weeks.<doc-sep>A former Thai navy SEAL died early Friday morning trying to free a stranded soccer team from a cave in Thailand. Former Sgt. Saman Kunan, who was working as a volunteer alongside rescuers, died between 1 and 2 a.m. Friday local time. SEAL commander Arpakorn Yookongkaew said Kunan died placing oxygen canisters underwater along the route to the stranded boys. The Evening Standard notes this is the current method for replenishing air supply in the cave, where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23. Kunan passed out and efforts to resuscitate him failed. A Facebook profile remembering Kunan, 38, shows images of a fit man with an adventurous spirit — bicycling and racing, clad in athletic gear. After retiring as a navy SEAL, Kunan became a triathlete and worked as an airport security officer, according to The Standard. Thai soldiers and police officers paid respected to Kunan, as his coffin was loaded onto a Thai Navy plane at Chiang Rai International Airport in Chiang Rai on Friday. Officials said the diver would be given royally-sponsored funeral rites including a military funeral at the Satthahip Navy Base in Pattaya, and then in his hometown in the northern Thailand province of Roi Et. The navy is also seeking permission to posthumously promote Saman, who was a petty officer first class when he left the unit, Channel News Asia reports. "Despite this, we will continue until we accomplish our mission," Apakorn said. Thai authorities are racing to replenish oxygen in the cave, which is dipping to dangerously low levels because of the large number of rescue workers inside, Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Ossotthanakor said. They are also working to pump out water from the flooded cave, especially as more rain is forecasted for the region. More:Thai navy SEAL commander: 'Limited amount of time' left to rescue trapped soccer team More:An illustrated look at the Thai cave rescue More:Former Rescuer: Thai Cave Rescue Could be Fatal Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets<doc-sep>
The body of the former Thai navy SEAL diver who died while trying to rescue soccer players in a flooded cave is on its way back home. see also Diver dies trying to free boys trapped in cave A former Thai Navy SEAL diver was killed Friday while... Petty Officer First Class Saman Gunan ran out of oxygen and died Friday while delivering air tanks during the dangerous rescue mission of the group, which has been trapped for nearly two weeks. The 37-year-old’s casket was draped with the national flag and transported from a hospital to a naval base in Chon Buri, the Bangkok Post reported. About 100 officials held a 10-minute moment of silence for the fallen officer before the casket was loaded onto a Royal Thai Navy plane and flown to the base. A royal bathing rite and chanting ceremony were also performed. Gunan’s body will make its final journey to his home in Roi Et on Saturday, when funeral services will be held. Gunan, a former member of the navy’s Underwater Demolition Assault Unit — members of which are known as SEALs — had volunteered to help rescue the 12 young soccer players and their coach. The group went missing in Tham Luang’s complex cave system in northern Thailand following heavy flooding that made it impossible to get out. They were found alive earlier this week, but now workers are scrambling to save them as oxygen inside the cave continues to drop to dangerous levels, CNN reported Friday.