LEICESTER, England (AP) — A helicopter was engulfed in flames in a carpark outside English soccer club Leicester shortly after a Premier League game on Saturday.
The helicopter belonging to Leicester’s ownership took off from the center of the field at King Power Stadium more than an hour after the game against West Ham was drawn 1-1, and crashed seconds later.
But there were no immediate details about who was on board.
Police and emergency services work at the scene of an accident at The King Power Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Leicester, England. Sources report the helicopter of the Leicester City chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha crashed outside the stadium folllowing their match against West Ham United. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)
The team said it was assisting authorities with “a major incident” outside the stadium but no further information was provided.
The local ambulance service said in a statement: “We received a call at 8:38 p.m. this evening to reports of a helicopter crash near King Power Stadium. We sent a doctor, two paramedics in ambulance cars, a crewed ambulance and our Hazardous Area Response Team, with the first resource arriving within two minutes of the call.”
Leicester was bought in 2010 by billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who also owns Thai duty-free retail giant King Power. The team won the English Premier League at odds of 5,000-1 in 2016.
The Premier League tweeted: “Thoughts from all at the Premier League are with everyone affected by tonight’s incident.”
Leicester players Harry Maguire and Wilfred Ndidi tweeted the emoji of praying hands.
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