The Thai boss of Leicester City fears dead after the accident of a helicopter | Football News

LEICESTER, United Kingdom. It is feared that the charismatic Thai chef from Leicester City died on Sunday after a billionaire-owned helicopter crashed and burned in the parking lot of the football stadium a few moments after taking off the pitch.

Neither the police nor the club would say or deny whether Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, a regular at home helicopter return flights, was on board the aircraft when it appeared that his rear propeller had a mechanical problem.

The BBC, Sky News and several British newspapers cited sources that the 60-year-old player and a group of people boarded the blue helicopter from the midfield once the stadium it's emptied after Saturday's 1-1 draw against West Ham.

Leicester City only stated that she was badisting the police with a "major incident" and that the empire of Vichai's duty-free King Power shops was making no comment.

Local police thanked fans for their "patience" in a tweet published nearly 18 hours after the crash.

"We are working with a number of agencies to inform the public and keep them informed," said Leicestershire police in a tweet.

Images show orange flames balls engulfing the wreckage of the King Power Stadium parking lot.

"The engine stopped and I turned around, which made a roaring noise, it became silent, the blades started to spin and there was a big bang, "said freelance photographer Ryan Brown at BBC Radio 5 Live.

Prayers and warm praise poured in from all over Britain and beyond for the Thai boss, who boasted of having encouraged Leicester's title victory against to all the odds in the Premier League in 2016.

A steady stream of mourning supporters lay scarves and football jerseys at the entrance of local supporters as aviation experts flew into the charred remains of the helicopter.

Among the tributes was an image of Ganesh – a Hindu god also observed in Thai Buddhist temples.

A minute of silence was observed before the whistle of Sunday's first two Premier League matches.

"He put Leicester on the map," Cathy Dann, a supporter of the club, told AFP.

"He made us great."

Gary Lineker, legend of England, former Leicester player and host of the BBC's Match of the Day, tweeted: "This was the most difficult @BBCMOTD I've ever organized. .. a terrible tragedy … it's heartbreaking. "

The stars of Leicester, Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire, both tweeted emojis with hands raised in prayer.

Sven-Goran Eriksson, who was director of the Vichai team, called his former boss "very, very generous man" who "attended every game of my time".

And ordinary supporters in central Bangkok said Vichai had also contributed to the development of Thai football, bringing the country of Southeast Asia greater recognition in the world of sport.

"This is an important character who has raised the bar of Thai football further," said AFP Apichart Jitratkavee, a fan of Leicester in the Thai capital.

Vichai buys Leicester City in 2010 and becomes president in February, investing millions of dollars in the team and becoming a beloved figure of the club and the city – a feat that foreign owners of the Premier League do not always realize.

It is under the ownership of Vichai that Leicester created one of the greatest fairy tales in the history of English football by winning the 2015/16 Premier League, having started the season with 5,000 to 1 outsiders for the title.

Vichai's significant investments in the club helped them to return to the Premier League Premier League in 2014.

They initially seemed outclbaded by London's richest and most established clubs, Liverpool and Manchester, languishing at the bottom of the table for most of the 2014/15 season.

The Fox, as they are nicknamed the team, then designed what fans now fondly call "The Great Escape", winning seven of their last nine games.

They finished 14th, securing another season in the richest league of Europe in 2015/16.

But even their most fervent fans could not have imagined what was happening next.

Vardy, signed by Fleetwood Town, who is not part of the league, scored 11 consecutive goals, propelling the men in blue to an unprecedented title in the history of the Premier League.

This success also qualified for the first time the lucrative Champions League, the peak of European football played by the most successful teams on the continent, including Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Over there, Leicester City once again challenged the chances of success by winning his group before losing his 2-1 semifinal on two legs against Atletico Madrid.