The Duke of Cambridge has released a statement via Kensington Palace on the tragic helicopter crash at Leicester City Football Club that took place on 27 October in Leicester. The crash claimed five lives – including the Thai billionaire owner of the Leicester City Football Club, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Srivaddhanaprabha was just 60-years-old.
Prince William spoke of Srivaddhanaprabha’s contributions to football and charitable causes and expressed his condolences to the Thai businessman’s friends and family.
His Royal Highness, as President of the Football Association, stated, “My thoughts today are with the family and friends of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and all the victims of the terrible crash at Leicester City Football Club.
“I was lucky to have known Vichai for several years. He was a businessman of strong values who was dedicated to his family and who supported a number of important charitable causes. He made such a big contribution to football, not least through Leicester City’s magical 2016 season that captured the imagination of the world.
“He will be missed by all fans of the sport and everyone lucky enough to have known him.”
The helicopter went down after clearing King Power Stadium at 20:30 BST. Two members of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s staff, Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare; the pilot, Eric Swaffer; and the pilot’s partner, Izabela Roza Lechowicz also lost their lives in the tragic accident.
Leicester City has also released a statement saying that the football club’s thoughts were with “the Srivaddhanaprabha family and the families of all those on-board at this time of unspeakable loss.”
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was born on 5 June 1958 in Bangkok, Thailand. He was married to Aimon Srivaddhanaprabha, and together, they had four children.
