Leicester owner confirmed dead
▶ Tributes, mourning as Vichai killed in helicopter crash
Leicester City’s Thai billionaire boss was among five people killed when his helicopter crashed and burst into flames in the Premier League side’s stadium car park moments after taking off from the pitch, the club said Sunday.
A stream of fans already fearing the worst had laid out flowers, soccer scarves and Buddhist prayers outside the club’s King Power stadium after Saturday’s accident in tribute to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha – the man they credit for an against-all-odds Premier League victory in 2016.
“The world has lost a great man,” the club said in a statement.
“Leicester City was a family under his leadership. It is as a family that we will grieve his passing and maintain the pursuit of a vision for the club that is now his legacy.”
A book of condolence will be opened at the stadium from Tuesday and the team have postponed their upcoming League Cup fixture against Southampton.
Police named the four other victims as Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, two members of Vichai’s staff, pilot Eric Swaffer and passenger Izabela Roza Lechowicz.
Vichai, 60, the owner of Thailand’s King Power dutyfree empire, was a regular at matches who used to fly to and from home games.
The blue chopper took off from the middle of the pitch once the stadium had emptied after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with West Ham United.
Eyewitnesses said the helicopter appeared to develop a mechanical problem in its rear propeller shortly after takeoff.
Images showed orange balls of flame engulfing the wreckage in the car park of the stadium where just two years ago Leicester celebrated the most unlikely of Premier League title triumphs.
“Struggling to find the right words... but to me you are legend, an incredible man who had the biggest heart, the soul of Leicester City Football Club,” Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, one of the heroes of that success, posted on Instagram.
Prayers and tributes poured in from the soccer world and beyond for the jovial man many credit with bringing glory to the central English city with the miracle-making club.
Vichai bought Leicester City in 2010 and moved to chairman the following February, pouring millions into the team and becoming a beloved figure in the club and the city – a feat rarely achieved by the Premier League’s foreign owners.
It was under Vichai’s ownership that Leicester crafted one of the biggest fairy tales in soccer history by winning the 2015-16 Premier League, having started the season as 5,0001 outsiders for the title.
Vichai’s investments in the club helped return them to the Premier League from the second-tier Championship in 2014.