Leicester City’s owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, died in the helicopter crash outside the club’s stadium on Saturday, it was confirmed on Sunday night by the club. He was one of five people killed – all onboard the helicopter – when the accident occurred around an hour after the club’s draw at home to West Ham United. The Thai owner’s helicopter crashed near a car park by the south-east corner of the stadium shortly after taking off from the pitch at around 8.30pm.
The helicopter fell from the sky and burst into flames in a car park near the stadium shortly after 8.30pm on Saturday. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is leading the investigation into the accident and a cordon remains in place at the scene while enquiries continue. Leicester City said in a statement on Sunday evening that the "world has lost a great man". The club added: "Leicester City was a family under his leadership. It is as a family that we will grieve his passing and maintain the pursuit of a vision for the club that is now his legacy. "A book of condolence, which will be shared with the Srivaddhanaprabha family, will be opened at King Power Stadium from 8am on Tuesday 30 October for supporters wishing to pay their respects."
“It is with the deepest regret and a collective broken heart that we confirm our chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, was among those to have tragically lost their lives on Saturday evening when a helicopter carrying him and four other people crashed outside King Power Stadium. None of the five people on-board survived,” read a club statement. “The primary thoughts of everyone at the club are with the Srivaddhanaprabha family and the families of all those on-board at this time of unspeakable loss. In Khun Vichai the world has lost a great man. A man of kindness, of generosity and a man whose life was defined by the love he devoted to his family and those he so successfully led. Leicester City was a family under his leadership. It is as a family that we will grieve his passing and maintain the pursuit of a vision for the club that is now his legacy.” Leicestershire police have named the other four passengers as Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, both members of Vichai’s staff, pilot Eric Swaffer and passenger Izabela Roza Lechowicz.
Vichai, 60, was a hugely popular figure at Leicester, having bought the club for £39m in 2010. With his backing the club won the Premier League in 2016 for the first time in its history, defying the odds of 5,000-1. The self-made billionaire and father of four was also respected locally for his charity work, having donated £2m to Leicester Children’s Hospital. His surname, meaning “light of progressive glory” in Thai, had been bestowed on him by King Bhumibol, the former monarch of Thailand, in recognition of his corporate and social responsibility programmes. Vichai regularly left home matches in his Augusta AW169 helicopter and on Saturday he was due to travel in it to Luton Airport prior to taking his private jet to Thailand.
In Thailand, where Vichai’s ownership of the Leicester club had become a source of great national pride and prompted many Thais to switch allegiances from popular clubs Manchester United and Liverpool, well-known figures in football and politics paid tribute.
A statement from the Football Association of Thailand said: “It was with profound sadness that we learnt of the sudden and tragic passing of the Chairman of the King Power and Leicester City Football Club. The Football Association of Thailand extend our deepest condolences for Srivaddhanaprabha family and families of those who lose their lives in this tragedy.”
Source: The Guardian, Independent