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Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the Thai billionaire and owner of Leicester City Football Club, died in a helicopter crash outside the Premier League club’s home ground, it was confirmed on Sunday.

“It is with the deepest regret and a collective broken heart that we confirm our Chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, was among those to have tragically lost their lives on Saturday evening when a helicopter carrying him and four other people crashed outside King Power Stadium,” said Leicester City in a statement.

“None of the five people on board survived.”

Leicestershire police said that “while formal identification has not yet taken place”, it believed the other four other passengers were two members of Mr Vichai’s staff, Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and passenger Izabela Roza Lechowicz.

The police force added that no others are believed to have been injured, while the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch is leading an enquiry into the causes and circumstances around the crash.

The confirmation came after investigators searched the wreckage of the helicopter belonging to the Leicester City owner on Sunday.

Mr Vichai built his fortune as owner and chairman of King Power, Thailand’s leading operator of duty-free stores, making him one of the country’s most prominent businessmen.

He was also politically influential, having been close with Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s self-exiled former premier and former Manchester City owner.

Mr Vichai acquired Leicester City in 2010 and became a popular figure among fans, particularly after the club won the Premiership title in 2016.

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Subscribers can use the gift article service to distribute up to 10 or 20 articles each month. More information is available at”Leicester City was a family under his leadership,” the club stated. ”

It is as a family that we will grieve his passing and maintain the pursuit of a vision for the club that is now his legacy.”