LEICESTER, United Kingdom: Fears grew for Leicester City’s charismatic Thai chairman on Sunday 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’s pitch. There was no confirmation whether London-based Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who frequently flies to and from Leicester’s home games by helicopter, was on board the aircraft which appeared to develop mechanical problems.
The BBC quoted a source and a witness as saying Vichai, and a group of other people boarded the blue helicopter from the centre-circle in the middle of the pitch once the stadium emptied after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with West Ham.
Leicester City said it only it was assisting police with a “major incident” and officials at King Power, Vichai’s duty-free shopping empire, were not commenting. Images showed orange balls of flame engulfing the wreckage in the carpark at King Power Stadium — the scene of unbridled jubilation after Leicester’s against-all-odds Premier League title victory in 2016.
“Literally 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,” freelance photographer Ryan Brown told BBC Radio 5 Live. None of the identities of the pilot or passengers was revealed, and there was also no information about whether anyone on the ground was injured.
“We are assisting Leicestershire Police and the emergency services in dealing with a major incident at King Power Stadium,” the club said in a statement. “I can’t get to sleep over it, because it means a lot to me, he did a lot for the club,” Leicester City supporter Anti Patel told AFP. Expressions of concern poured in from around the football world, in Britain and beyond. England legend Gary Lineker, a former Leicester player and host of the BBC’s Match of the Day, tweeted: “That was the most difficult @BBCMOTD I’ve ever hosted… A terrible tragedy. Heartbreaking.”
Leicester stars Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire both tweeted emojis of hands held up in prayer. Nualphan Lamsam, also known as Madam Pang, an influential figure in Thai football who manages the national women’s team, sent “moral support to Vichai and family” in a post on Facebook. And ordinary fans in central Bangkok said Vichai helped develop Thailand’s football as well, bringing the Southeast Asian country greater recognition in the sports world.
“He is an important person who has raised the bar of Thai football further,” Apichart Jitratkavee, a Leicester fan in the Thai capital, told AFP. “There were projects by Leicester City to select Thai teenagers to train in the club’s academy.
They will have a chance to serve the nation in the future.” 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 not always achieved by the Premier League’s foreign owners. The local ambulance service said it was alerted of an accident about 75 minutes after the final whistle blew.
Leicestershire police said Sunday the Air Accidents Investigation Board, which probes civil air aircraft accidents, would lead the investigation. It was under Vichai’s ownership that Leicester crafted one of the biggest fairy-tales in English football history by winning the 2015/16 Premier League, having started the season as 5,000-1 outsiders for the title. – AFP
