He was returning from one of these supply dives, heading back toward Chamber 3, when he lost consciousness. His dive partner found him unresponsive. CPR was administered at the scene and continued as he was brought to Chamber 3 and then to a local hospital. He was pronounced dead on July 6, 2018.
The official reported cause of death was oxygen depletion — he had consumed his breathing supply during the extended dive and lost consciousness before he could reach a resupply point. Some accounts describe his returning dive as having taken longer than planned, consuming his gas before he could exit.
Rear Admiral Apakorn Yukongkaew, commander of the Thai Naval Special Warfare Command, announced the death and stated: “The loss will not be in vain — we will soldier on.” The statement carried the weight of an institution acknowledging that it was asking people to accept mortal risk in the service of this operation.
Saman Kunan’s death on July 6 came two days before the first extraction attempt was scheduled to begin. It was a direct reminder, to everyone involved in the operation, of exactly what the flooded passages were capable of doing to even experienced divers.
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## Waiting in the Dark: The Boys and Their Coach
While the external operation was scaling up through its extraordinary complexity, the thirteen people inside Nern Nom Sao were waiting.
The conditions of their wait deserve careful description, because they were more difficult than a simple count of days can convey.
The cave at Nern Nom Sao was cold — the water flowing through the passages was significantly colder than tropical ambient temperature, and the interior of the mountain maintained a temperature that required the boys to remain active to avoid hypothermia. The air was damp. There was no light except what the rescue divers had brought when they arrived on July 2.