Leicester FC owner's helicopter crashes

[nanyang]

The helicopter of Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha has crashed after the Premier League football match against West Ham on Saturday night in what authorities have confirmed is a major incident.

At around 8.38pm, an hour after the match finished, Mr Srivaddhanaprabha’s helicopter took off from the King Power Stadium and then plunged down, eyewitnesses claim, before crashing in the car park near the south-east corner of the ground and erupting in a ball of flames.

Emergency services rushed to the scene and Leicester players and staff, including their goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, former Leicester and England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and distressed supporters were seen in tears as the fire raged near the car park.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... car-park1/

[PeteC]

Thai media is just picking up on this story now at 0630 hours. It's still not known if the club owner and King Power owner (Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha) was on board.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/ ... s/30357344

Note: Moving this thread to NEWS now as it's a developing Thai story.

[Big Boy]

Goal.com say he was on board https://www.goal.com/th/%E0%B8%82%E0%B9 ... MIzxjgGu-8

[Nereus]

All the usual suspects are on the pilots forum spouting their usual unsubstantiated BS.
The owners usual habit was to have the helicopter pick him up after the match, so why else would it be there if he was not onboard?
I hope that he and the pilots have survived, but if the photos are any indication, it does not look good.

[Nereus]

King Power says no comment yet on helicopter crash

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... recent_box

Officials at King Power said on Sunday they could make no comment after a helicopter belonging to chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who also owns Leicester City football club, crashed in flames following a Premier League match.

Two King Power officials contacted by Reuters said they could neither confirm nor deny whether Vichai was on board the helicopter, which British media reported to have crashed late on Saturday outside Leicester City's stadium.

"We cannot say anything and no statement can be given yet," one of the King Power officials said.

c1_1565982_620x413.jpg (45.12 KiB) Viewed 1788 times

[Nereus]

King Power CEO Vichai Feared Dead in Helicopter Crash

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/ ... -in-crash/

BANGKOK — The billionaire founder of Thailand’s King Power is believed to have died when his helicopter crashed Saturday night local time in England.

Vichai, a powerful and politically savvy 61 year old, was believed to be leaving the King Power Stadium in Leicester, England, following a match in his personal helicopter when it went down for unknown reasons. No one is believed to have survive.

King Power has yet to release a statement on the fate of its chief executive, who founded the company back in 1989. The BBC reports it has confirmed with someone close to the family that he was aboard.

“We are assisting Leicestershire Police and the emergency services in dealing with a major incident at King Power Stadium,” Leicester City FC tweeted early this morning, Bangkok time. “The Club will issue a more detailed statement once further information has been established.”

It is unclear who else was on the flight. A video said to be of passengers boarding the helicopter on the stadium’s field, where Vichai was known to take off and land from, shows about six people heading toward it.

[HHTel]

I read on one of the UK sources that his wife and 'one other family member' were aboard. Fortunately it seems his son was not aboard.
Tragic event whichever way you look at it.

[Highflyer]

He has 4 sons, very strange no official statement 14 hours after the crash.

[Nereus]

He has 4 sons, very strange no official statement 14 hours after the crash.

The police will not release names until a positive ID has been made. Going by the photos that have been posted, that may take a while. I doubt that there will be any survivors.

[dtaai-maai]

^^Exactly. There would obviously have been a statement by now if he hadn't been on board or had survived. Let's just hope he was the only passenger.

[Dannie Boy]

^^Exactly. There would obviously have been a statement by now if he hadn't been on board or had survived. Let's just hope he was the only passenger.

Unfortunately, its been reported that 6-7 people were witnessed entering the helicopter.

[PeteC]

I saw an article an hour or so ago which stated his wife and one other family member were part of the group. If I see it again I'll post reference. Pete

[Big Boy]

Sky News ticker tape says he was one of 5 people on board.

[Nereus]

There were 2 pilots for a start. The BBC has just reported that the club owner, the chairman and 1 other person were on board. (thought to be his daughter)

[HHTel]

My friend's daughter is a personal friend of the family. She's worried about her friend of the same age and the rest of her family. She's been trying all day on all the numbers she has but says that all the phones are either permanently engaged or switched off.
I would guess they're switched off to prevent the media and other 'story-seekers' getting hold of them.

(thought to be his daughter)

That's what my friend's daughter is concerned about. It could be the mother of her friend.