Leicester City fans ‘numb with shock’ after owner confirmed dead
Leicester City fans are “numb with shock” in the aftermath of the helicopter crash which claimed the lives in five people after Saturday’s Premier League fixture with West Ham United.
The helicopter, carrying Foxes owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four other people, was leaving the King Power stadium after the game when it came down in a car park outside the main stadium at around 8.30pm.
Leicester City confirmed last night that there were no survivors after the aircraft came down. Also killed in the crash were Foxes officials Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare along with pilot Eric Swaffer and his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz.
A statement from Leicester City said: “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.
“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.”
Srivaddhanaprabha bought the Foxes for £39m in 2010 after making his fortune as head of the duty free business King Power. He is reported to be the fifth-richest person in Thailand. The money he poured into the Club culiminated in Leicester’s shock – but deserved – Premier League Championship win in the 2015/16 season.
Paul Smyth, a season ticket holder at the King Power, said: “Everyone is just numb with shock. As if an accident like this wasn’t bad enough, that it involves the family that has done so much for the club and community and is held in genuine affection by supporters brings it much closer to home.”
Supporters unable to visit King Power Stadium that wish to leave a message can do so through an online book of condolence, which will be made available via lcfc.com shortly.
Both Tuesday’s First Team fixture against Southampton in the EFL Cup and the Development Squad fixture against Feyenoord in the Premier League International Cup have been postponed.
The Foxes’ statement added: “Everyone at the Club has been truly touched by the remarkable response of the football family, whose thoughtful messages of support and solidarity have been deeply appreciated at this difficult time.”
Plans to extend Leicester City’s King Power Stadium were expected to be submitted before Christmas, while the Club has just been given the go-ahead to build a £100m training complex in Charnwood.
