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Leicester confirm chairman's death

Published:Sunday | October 28, 2018 | 12:00 AM
AP
This image made from video shows the burning helicopter, which belonged to Leicester City FC chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, after it crashed in a parking lot outside the King Power Stadium in Leicester, England shortly after a Premier League game against West Ham United on Saturday. (Pool Photo via AP)

LEICESTER, England (AP):

English football club Leicester City says Thai owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was among five people who died when a helicopter crashed next to the stadium.

The 60-year-old retail entrepreneur's helicopter burst into flames shortly after taking off from the football field Saturday at the team's King Power Stadium which is named after his duty-free chain. The club did not name the other four victims.

 

Key to revival

 

Srivaddhanaprabha bought Leicester for £39 million in 2010 when it was in the English Football League Championship and bankrolled the revival that peaked with the 5,000-1 outsiders improbably winning the English Premier League in 2016.

Having accomplished one of the greatest underdog stories in the history of sports, the central England team is now valued by Forbes at £371 million.

In a statement, Leicester says, "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."