Leicester City football club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was among five people who died in a helicopter that crashed in a ball of flames after a Premier League match on Saturday.
"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. None of the five people on-board survived," the statement read.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha is feared dead in the crash. Source: EPA
Vichai, a father of four and Thai tycoon who founded duty-free giant King Power International, is a huge favourite with the fans after he bought the unfancied side from central England in 2010 and they went on to stun the football world by winning the Premier League title in 2016.
The football world has begun to mourn the victims of the crash with Leicester FC striker Jamie Vardy and defender Ben Chilwell sending messages of condolences.
The sight of his personal helicopter taking off from the middle of the field - to take Vichai to his English base near London in Berkshire - was a regular feature after Leicester's home games.
On Saturday evening, it turned into a horror scene when the chopper appeared to suddenly lose power, plummeting to the ground in a parking lot outside the empty stadium and bursting into flames.
The crash sparked emotional scenes in Leicester, the East Midlands city whose devoted football fans will forever be grateful to Vichai for bankrolling not only the club's first title, but one of the most incredible stories in world sports history.
Neither his company, King Power, or the Leicester club have yet confirmed that the billionaire was onboard the helicopter. Source: AAP
Leicester, only two years after being promoted from England's second-tier league, was a 5,000-to-1 shot to win the Premier League at the start of the 2015-16 season.
But after Vichai brought in veteran Italian manager Claudio Ranieri at the start of the campaign, the Foxes produced a stunning season. They lost only three of their 38 games, to win the title by a comfortable 10-point margin, ahead of far more illustrious rivals Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United.
Though his public comments were limited, Leicester's ever-smiling chairman became a talisman of the campaign, watching on from his seat in the stadium at home games beside his son, Aiyawatt, the club's vice chairman.
While many foreign owners have been viewed with suspicion by their English club's fans - for reasons such as a lack of respect for supporters or their club's traditions - Vichai was held in the highest regard by the Leicester faithful.
They showed it during one match late in that 2015-16 season, when their title was secured, with the 32,000-strong King Power Stadium crowd rising to give their chairman an emotional and spontaneous standing ovation.
Flowers and wreaths have been laid outside the stadium. Small bouquets were left by members of the public alongside a large image of the Hindu god Ganesh, which was also propped up among the flowers.
Leicester had played a league match at home against West Ham United earlier on Saturday, drawing 1-1.
