Start Asia The owner of Leicester City FC died

The owner of Leicester City FC died

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Leicester City owner among five dead when his helicopter crashed outside the stadium, the club has confirmed.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, two members of his staff, the pilot and a passenger were killed when the aircraft crashed at about 20:30 BST on Saturday.

Witnesses said the helicopter just cleared the King Power Stadium before it spiralled out of control and crashed in a fireball.

Thousands of bouquets and scarves have already been left outside the ground.

Leicestershire Police said it believed the dead to be:

  • Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha
  • Two members of his staff Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare
  • Pilot Eric Swaffer
  • Passenger Izabela Roza Lechowicz

Ms Lechowicz, who moved to the UK from Poland in 1997, and Mr Swaffer were professional pilots who lived together in Camberley, Surrey.

In a statement, the Polish embassy said: „With great sadness, we received the news about the death of Izabela Lechowicz in the Leicester catastrophe.

„She was a great pilot, winner of the #Polka100 contest. It contributed to the creation of a positive image of Poland in the UK.“

Mr Swaffer had over 20 years‘ flying experience as a private jet and helicopter pilot.

His career included flying helicopters for live media broadcasting including Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast and the Virgin Radio traffic helicopter.