Leicester owner ‘on board’ crash helicopter
The owner of Leicester City, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, was one of those aboard the Thai businessman’s helicopter that crashed in a car park outside the club’s ground as it left the stadium on Saturday evening.
Citing a source close to the family, the BBC reported that Srivaddhanaprabha was among the passengers when the helicopter seemed to spiral out of control moments after it set off at about 8.30pm on Saturday and plummeted into the car park shortly after Leicester’s Premier League match against West Ham United.
According to witnesses, the helicopter just cleared the top of the King Power Stadium before it started to spin. It then plummeted to the ground and burst into flames.
Srivaddhanaprabha is normally flown back to London in his private helicopter after attending home games. By the time of going to print, police had not confirmed how many people were aboard or if there are any survivors.
Leicestershire Police said the Air Accident Investigation Branch will now be leading the investigation into the circumstances of the helicopter crash.
Officials at King Power’s headquarters in Thailand said they could not yet comment on the crash or say whether Srivaddhanaprabha had been aboard.
Witnesses described the distressing scenes outside the ground.
John Butcher, who was near the stadium at the time of the crash, told the BBC his nephew saw the helicopter spiral out of control apparently due to a faulty rear propeller.
“Within a second it dropped like a stone to the floor ... Luckily it did spiral for a little while and everybody sort of ran, sort of scattered. As far as we are aware nobody around the car park was caught up in this problem.”
Srivaddhanaprabha bought the East Midlands club for £39 million (Dh184m) in 2010 when the club languished in England’s second tier. After pumping millions into the club, he helped steer them back into the top flight in 2014.
Leicester narrowly avoided relegation in 2015 and then embarked on a fairy-tale run under Italian manager Claudio Ranieri the following
year that carried them all the way to the Premier League title.
Reports in the British media said Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel could be seen outside the ground in tears while several supporters were visibly distressed.
Support poured in from the football community. Striker Jamie Vardy, a hero of that title-winning side, as well as defender and England international Harry Maguire sent messages of support on Twitter while rival clubs including Manchester City also voiced their concern.
West Ham’s vice-chairman Karren Brady said: “My thoughts and prayers are with everyone at Leicester City, horrific pictures on the news, I pray everyone is ok. I can confirm everyone from WHU has safely left the stadium.”
Freelance photographer Ryan Brown was covering the game and saw the helicopter clear the stadium before it crashed.
“Literally the engine stopped and I turned around, and it made a bit of a whirring noise,” Brown told BBC Radio 5 Live. “It turned silent, blades started spinning and then there was a big bang.”
The self-made businessman Srivaddhanaprabha founded Thai duty-free giant King Power in 1989.
The business got a big boost in 2006 when it was granted an airport monopoly under the government of then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and it continued to prosper even after Shinawatra’s ouster in a coup that year.
According to Forbes magazine, he is the fifth richest person in Thailand with an esti-