Leicester City owner believed to have been in helicopter that crashed outside stadium

The status of the owner and four others believed to have been on board has not been made public.

A helicopter leaving midfield of King Power Stadium crashed on Saturday with BBC News reporting that Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was one of the passengers onboard.

The helicopter took off shortly following the team’s 1-1 draw with West Ham United. Eyewitnesses said it struggled to clear the stadium wall before making a “loud noise” and spiraling out of control. It crashed in the stadium parking lot at roughly 8:30 p.m. local time, and there is very little known about what happened at this time. The Leicester City Twitter account issued a brief statement saying they were assisting police and would release more information as details emerged.

Srivaddhanaprabha was known for leaving games via helicopter and flying to his London home, but there has been no official word on whether he was on board. However it is being reported in the U.K. that Srivaddhanaprabha, his daughter, two pilots and a fifth unknown person were on the helicopter when it crashed. The status of the five has not been made public, however fans have set up a memorial outside the stadium, assuming the worst.

Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images

Srivaddhanaprabha was beloved by the community, not only for ushering in unprecedented success for the club, but for how the Thai billionaire was viewed as a man of the people, despite his considerable wealth. He chose not to raise ticket prices following Leicester City’s stunning Premier League win in 2016, and constantly made overtures to people in the community. He bought fans free beer on his birthday, and had recently donated £2 million to the local children’s hospital.

We will update this story as information is made available.