Leicester City owner’s helicopter crashes in car park after match

• Fears for safety of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha after crash
• Helicopter crashed shortly after take-off from stadium

Jacob Steinberg at the King Power Stadium
Sat 27 Oct 2018 21.10 BST

A helicopter believed to be carrying Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, Leicester City’s chairman, crashed outside the King Power Stadium following Leicester’s home draw with West Ham United on Saturday night.

The identity of the passengers was unknown in the immediate aftermath, despite unconfirmed reports that Srivaddhanaprabha was on board, and it was unclear if there were any survivors. The incident occurred around an hour after the final whistle.

The owner’s helicopter crashed in a car park near the south-east corner of the stadium shortly after taking off from the pitch at around 8.30pm.

Eyewitness reports indicated that the helicopter just cleared the roof of the stands, stayed in the air briefly and spiralled down to earth after reportedly developing a fault with its tail rotor. There were reports of a huge fireball erupting. Witnesses said there was a smell of acrid smoke in the area. Emergency services rushed to the scene to tackle the fire and search the wreckage.

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