Mr. Vichai's Helicopter engulfed in fire
LEICESTER City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s helicopter crashed in a ball of flames in the club’s stadium car park last night.
The UK Sun reports that the eight-seater helicopter belonging to 60-year-old chairman had flown from the King Power Stadium pitch live on TV moments before the explosion.
The helicopter took off at around 8.45pm and nosedived in a ball of flames less than 200 yards away just seconds later. No sabotage was suspected, according to preliminary investigations.
Eye-witnesses said the AW169 helicopter spiralled out of control in the air with an apparent problem with the tail fin.
The billionaire’s company King Power has reportedly confirmed Srivaddhanaprabha was on board when a failure upon take off resulted in a fire on board moments before the crash.
A source close to the family told the BBC he was in his helicopter when it crashed.
It is feared several people were killed. Supporters were forced to run for their lives from debris falling to the ground as the helicopter crashed.
The chairman’s son Aiyawatt, who is the club’s vice-chairman, and director of football Jon Rudkin were not on board, according to sources.
Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was among those seen in tears outside the stadium as fire crews doused the flames.
The wife of England and Leicester City legend Peter Shilton was among the eye-witnesses who saw the horror unfold.
Stephanie Shilton, 50, said: “It happened straight in front of us as we were leaving the ground. It’s horrendous.”
Leo Bruka, 27, who lives near the stadium, told The Telegraph he was driving home from work when he saw the helicopter falling.
He said: “I saw the helicopter coming down, it was spinning very quickly.”
One man, who wished not to be named, but has had a season ticket for over 40 years, said: “I saw Kasper Schmeichel run out first and then loads of security guards and stewards.
“I was stood outside the ground but it crashed on the other side. I hope everyone is OK.”
Srivaddhanaprabha is well-known for leaving the stadium by his helicopter, which lands in the centre circle on the pitch, after every Leicester home game.
BT Sport pundit Jake Humphrey pointed to the aircraft from the studio during a live broadcast at the stadium and said: “As you can see the owners are now heading off.”
A loud explosion could be heard on post-match analysis show Premier League tonight just moments later.
The crash was then confirmed by the host live on air and the programme brought to an early end as the crew was evacuated from the stadium.
Leicester had just played West Ham in a 1-1 draw in the Premier League. The 5.30pm kick-off finished at around 7.30pm.
