(RNN) – A diver has died in Thailand as rescue teams work to save 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a cave system.
According to CNN, the man was a former Thai Navy SEAL diver, and was on his way out of the cave when he died around 2 a.m. local time.
He's been identified as Saman Kunan, 38, according to the BBC.
Officials said he was bringing air tanks to the trapped team.
CNN described his cause of death as "due to a lack of air while attempting to return to a command center" inside the cave.
"A former SEAL who volunteered to help died last night around 2 a.m. His job was to deliver oxygen. He did not have enough on his way back," said Passakorn Boonyaluck, deputy governor of the Chiang Rai province, where the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex is located.
The soccer team has been trapped in the cave since June 23, after fierce rains raised the water level while they were inside.
British divers found all members of the team and their coach alive on Monday. A large rescue operation is now underway to get the team out.
Authorities have wrestled with possible methods for delivering them safely. One solution is to help them swim out of the flooded cave complex, a risky proposition, as demonstrated by Kunan's death – the first fatality in the rescue operation.
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