DEVASTATED
Leicester star Jamie Vardy shares pain of tragic owner’s son
THE family of Leicester City’s owner wept yesterday as they visited the scene of the helicopter crash that killed him and four other people.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s son Aiyawatt and widow Aimon laid a wreath on the pitch where the doomed aircraft took off.
Aimon then hugged the Leicester players who stood around the centre circle with their heads bowed at the club’s King Power Stadium.
Fans left hundreds of shirts, scarves and flowers at the ground and players wept as they walked around the shrine.
Kasper Schmeichel, Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire were distraught.
After a minute’s silence, several supporters expressed sympathies to Aiyawatt, 36, who responded by smiling and clutching their hands.
Among the mourners was Tom Meighan, lead singer of Leicester rock band Kasabian.
He said: “It’s just like your worst nightmare – it’s like losing a member of your family.
“I was fortunate to meet Vichai a few times because we’ve played at the stadium.
“He was a lovely guy. I don’t know how we are going to recover.”
Crash investigators have found the data recorder from the doomed Westland AW169.
Steering
The eight-seater took off from the centre circle after the club’s 1-1 draw against West Ham on Saturday and crashed seconds later.
Thai billionaire and dad of four Vichai, 61, died with ex-beauty queen Nusara Suknamai, 33, an assistant, and right-hand man Kaveporn Punpare. British pilot Eric Swaffer, 53, and his Polish girlfriend and co-pilot Izabela Lechowicz, 46, also died.
Mr Swaffer, of Camberley, Surrey, saved hundreds of lives by steering the stricken aircraft away from fans to wasteground where it crashed.
Leicestershire Police dismissed rumours that one of their drones could have downed the helicopter.
CCTV footage emerged last night showing the chopper rising above the floodlit ground at 8.34pm and then falling to the ground in a tailspin 33 seconds later.
Former Leicester player and club ambassador Alan Birchenall said: “The tributes will be all around the stadium by the end of the week.
“This is how we felt about our chairman. When he came here eight years ago we had only just come out of administration.
“These men turn up from Thailand and I thought it was going to be a five-minute wonder, but how wrong was I. It’s just incredible what they’ve done at this football club.
“Today is a lovely, beautiful sunny day, but it’s probably the worst day in our history.” Ex-Leicester striker Gary Lineker wrote of Vichai on Instagram: “He was a quiet, unassuming man who will always be remembered with great fondness and respect.
“He also helped to bring the most magical, miraculous title win in the history of football.”
Vichai, worth £3billion and chairman of duty-free firm King Power, bought Leicester for £39million, cleared their debts and saw them promoted to the top flight in 2014.
The following season, the club pulled off one of the biggest sporting upsets ever when they won the Premier League title in 2015-16.
Lucie Morris-Marr, a friend of pilot Mr Swaffer, said: “He was an incredible person. He would have done all he could to save lives in those final moments.
“He seemed to be living the dream flying with his girlfriend. Which is why their sudden passing in this tragedy is so terribly, terribly sad. It was an aviation love story.”
Sources say bosses will rename the ground in Vichai’s memory.