The Chairman and owner of Leicester City was one of five victims of a fatal helicopter crash outside the King Power Stadium, the club have confirmed.
The Leicester City FC owner’s helicopter crashed after taking off from the pitch following a Premier League match against West Ham United on Saturday night, October 27.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s helicopter spiralled out of control and plummeted into a car park outside Leicester’s King Power Stadium moments after it took off following their game at around 8.30pm on Saturday (October 27).
Srivaddhanaprabha, who bought Leicester City in 2010, usually arrives and leaves the team’s games via the aircraft.
GettyThe club confirmed the tragic news in a statement on Twitter:
— Leicester City (@LCFC) October 28, 2018
Ryan Brown, who works as a freelance photographer, was covering last night’s game and saw the helicopter take off from the ground.
Speaking to BBC Radio Leicester, he said:
The engine stopped and I turned round and it made a bit of a whirring noise, like a grinding noise. The helicopter just went silent, I turned round and it was just spinning, out of control.
And then there was a big bang and then [a] big fireball.
Helicopter belonging to the chairman of Leicester City has crashed outside the club's stadium. No news yet as to who was on board. pic.twitter.com/lHjX6NqUUb
— Mootaz Chehade (@MHChehade) October 27, 2018
Emergency services rushed to the scene to help put out the fire and look for survivors. A spokesperson for the football club described the crash as a ‘major incident’, saying:
We are assisting Leicestershire Police and the emergency services in dealing with a major incident at King Power Stadium.
A Leicester City spokesman said: “We are assisting Leicestershire Police and the emergency services in dealing with a major incident at King Power Stadium. The Club will issue a more detailed statement once further information has been established.”
— Leicester City (@LCFC) October 27, 2018
Devastated fans have been bringing flowers to the stadium, while several footballers have tweeted their thoughts following the horrific incident.
A sense of utter disbelief and sadness at The King Power this morning. I think this photo captures how every Leicester City fan feels. Full reaction on @BBCLeicester throughout the day #lcfc #leicester #bbc pic.twitter.com/0NdUvRUYYD
— Ady Dayman (@ady_dayman) October 28, 2018
Former Leicester City and England striker Gary Lineker wrote:
That was the most difficult @BBCMOTD I’ve ever hosted. Thoughts are with everyone at Leicester City. A terrible tragedy. Heartbreaking.
That was the most difficult @BBCMOTD I’ve ever hosted. Thoughts are with everyone at Leicester City. A terrible tragedy. Heartbreaking.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) October 27, 2018
While Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy simply tweeted:
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
— Jamie Vardy (@vardy7) October 27, 2018
Our thoughts are with all those affected by the devastating events.
Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.