Leicester City owner, four others in crashed chopper

World
Europe

00:39

The owner of English Premier League side Leicester City, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, and his daughter were on board the helicopter which crashed outside the club's King Power Stadium on Saturday night.

Srivaddhanaprabha, his daughter, two pilots and a fifth person were on the aircraft which took off from the center circle of the stadium after their 1-1 draw with West Ham in the Premier League. It's not clear if there are any survivors.

Shortly after takeoff, the helicopter began to spin and crashed in the corner of a car park just hundreds of meters away from stadium, Reuters said.

00:39

Throughout Sunday, fans have been laying down football scarves and shirts near where the helicopter landed.

"I was really upset, I can't get to sleep over it," Kanti Patel, a Leicester City fan, told AFP as emergency workers pored over the crash site.

"It means a lot to me, he did a lot for the club," Patel said, "To be honest, I don't know what to say, but I can't get over it. Since him being with the club, the club has done well, and I don't know what's going to happen now."

Leicester City's Thai chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha /AFP Photo

Video footage posted to Twitter showed a large fire burning in the wreckage in a car park near the stadium.

John, another Leicester fan, told Sky News that he was in the club bar when the helicopter spun out of control.

"We were in the bar facing the King Power – my nephew was in a real state of shock. He said he saw this helicopter out of control then drop within a second and burst into flames. He was so upset – we're all thinking about the owners here and what they've done for the football club. It's awful, you can't believe it," he said.

A witness said that Leicester's goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was the first person to run out toward the crashed helicopter.

Thailand says no comment

The helicopter of Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha lands on the pitch at the end of the game before making its final fateful journey during the Premier League match between Leicester City and West Ham United at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, October 27, 2018. /VCG Photo

Leicester City player Jamie Vardy and the official West Ham United twitter account have tweeted their concern.

Jamie Vardy's Twitter account.

West Ham United's Twitter account.

Vichai is a huge favorite with the fans after he bought the unfancied side from central England in 2010 and they went on to stun the soccer world by winning the league title in 2016.

According to Forbes magazine, he is the fifth richest person in Thailand with an estimated net worth of 4.9 billion US dollars. The family's empire also includes Belgian football club, Oud-Heverlee Leuven.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency