A local official who led the Thai cave rescue of 12 footballers in 2018 has died just months after the tragic passing of the team's young captain.

Pathum Thani Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn, 58, passed away at the Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand on June 21 after a battle with colon cancer.

The Wild Boars football team and staff said they were shocked by his death as relatives had told them days earlier that Narongsak's condition was improving.

Speaking to local media on Thursday, Buddhist monk Phra Kru Prayut Chetiyanukarn, a teacher at the Wild Boar Academy, said: 'We are deeply saddened by Narongsak's death. We had plans to visit the Phrathat Doi Wao temple together before he left us.

'The members of the Wild Boar Academy would like to organise a prayer ceremony in front of the Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai to mark the fifth anniversary of the rescue operation.

'This will also serve as an opportunity to make merit and pay tribute to Narongsak and diver Saman Gunan, who tragically lost his live during the rescue.

'I believe that Narongsak will have a comfortable and fulfilling afterlife as he has accumulated great merit through his leadership throughout the operation.'

A ceremony originally scheduled on July 10 to mark the rescue's fifth anniversary has been postponed following Narongsak's passing.

His death comes just months after former Wild Boars team captain Duangphet Phromthep died in England, on February 14.

Duangphet died in an apparent accident in his dorm at the Brooke House College football academy in Market Harborough, Leicestershire. The cause of his sudden death has not been revealed.

Duangphet was the former captain of the Wild Boars football team in Thailand. The group was rescued from the Tham Luang Cave in June 2018, following an intense mission that gripped the world.

Duangphet received a scholarship from the Sport Education Project and the Zico Foundation by Thai football legend Kiatisuk 'Zico' Senamuang. He travelled to the UK to pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer.