Leicester City owner's helicopter crashes outside stadium

A helicopter belonging to Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha crashed in the club's car park after a match on Saturday, local media reported.

It was not immediately clear who was on board the helicopter, which media said routinely came to pick up Thai billionaire Srivaddhanaprabha from  football matches.

Sky News reported that he had been at the match, and that the helicopter had taken off from the pitch minutes earlier.

Images posted online showed huge flames coming from the aircraft.

Witnesses told Sky they heard a loud mechanical sound before the helicopter came down, just a couple of hundred metres from the stadium.

In a statement, the club said: "We are assisting Leicestershire Police and the emergency services in dealing with a major incident at King Power Stadium. The club will issue a more detailed statement once further information has been established."

East Midlands Ambulance Service said they were called to the stadium at 8.38pm (1938 GMT) and said ambulances, paramedics and its hazardous area response team had been sent to the scene.

Leicestershire Police said emergency services were "currently at the King Power Stadium where an aircraft came down in a car park behind the ground. Enquiries to establish the exact circumstances of the collision are ongoing."

One man who witnessed the crash told the BBC, "I saw [Leicester goalkeeper] Kasper Schmeichel run out first and then loads of security guards and stewards."

Another witness, freelance photographer Ryan Brown, said "literally the engine stopped and I turned around, and it made a bit of a whirring noise.

"It turned silent, blades started spinning and then there was a big bang."

Srivaddhanaprabha bought Leicester in 2010, and under his chairmanship the club went on to win the 2016 Premier League at odds of 5,000-1, one of the most remarkable triumphs in football history.

The businessman is the owner of King Power, one of Thailand's largest retailers. He also bought Belgian club OH Leuven last year.

Leicester City footballers including Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire tweeted praying hand emojis after the crash, while football clubs around the country tweeted that their thoughts were with the club.

Leicester, captained by Schmeichel, earlier drew 1-1 against West Ham.