Leicester鈥檚 Thai boss feared dead after helicopter crash
Print Edition
Leicester City鈥檚 charismatic Thai boss was feared dead yesterday after a helicopter belonging to the billionaire crashed and burst into flames in the football stadium car park moments after taking off from the club鈥檚 pitch.
Neither the police nor the club would confirm or deny whether Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, a regular at matches who flies to and from home games by helicopter, was on board the aircraft when it appeared to develop a mechanical problem in its rear propeller.
The BBC, Sky News and several British papers quoted sources saying the 60-year-old and a group of others boarded the blue helicopter from the middle of the pitch once the stadium emptied after Saturday鈥檚 1-1 draw with West Ham United.
Leicester City said only that it was assisting police with a 鈥渕ajor incident鈥 and Vichai鈥檚 King Power duty-free shopping empire was not commenting.
Local police thanked fans for their 鈥減atience鈥 in a tweet issued nearly 18 hours after the crash.
鈥淲e are working with a number of other agencies to get an update out to the public and press,鈥 the Leicestershire police force said in a tweet.
Images showed orange balls of flame engulfing the wreckage in the car park at King Power Stadium.
鈥淟iterally the engine stopped and I turned around, and it made a bit of a whirring noise. It turned silent, blades started spinning and then there was a big bang,鈥 freelance photographer Ryan Brown told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Prayers and words of warm praise poured in from across Britain and beyond for the Thai boss who many credit with spurring Leicester鈥檚 against-all-odds English Premier League title victory in 2016.
A steady stream of grieving fans laid down football scarves and shirts outside the home fans鈥 entrance as aviation experts picked through the helicopter鈥檚 charred remains.
Among the tributes was an image of Ganesh 鈥 a Hindu god also seen in Thai Buddhist temples.
A minute鈥檚 silence was observed before the whistle of yesterday鈥檚 2 early EPL matches.
鈥淗e鈥檚 put Leicester on the map,鈥 club supporter Cathy Dann, 55, said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 made us big.鈥
England legend Gary Lineker, a former Leicester player and host of the BBC鈥檚 Match of the Day, tweeted: 鈥淭hat was the most difficult @BBCMOTD I鈥檝e ever hosted... A terrible tragedy. Heartbreaking.鈥
Leicester stars Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire both tweeted emojis of hands held up in prayer.
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 鈥 a feat not always achieved by the EPL鈥檚 foreign owners.
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