Leicester City helicopter crash: Kasabian's Tom Meighan mourns club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha after tragedy
The frontman was among the fans who gathered at the King Power stadium on Monday morning to pay their respects following the death of Leicester City FC owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha
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Your support makes all the difference.Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan has paid tribute to Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha following his death in a helicopter crash over the weekend.
Meighan, a native of Blaby,Leicestershire and longtime supporter of Leicester City FC, was among the fans who gathered on Monday morning at the King Power Stadium to honour the memory of the Thai billionaire businessman. Srivaddhanaprabha, 60, had just left the venue after a match on Saturday evening when his helicopter spiralled out of control and crashed in the car park, killing all five people inside.
Outside the stadium, a visibly moved Meighan praised Srivaddhanaprabha's legacy, referring to the late owner as "the man who saved our club." He credited Srivaddhanaprabha with getting the ailing Leicester City out of debt after purchasing it for £39m in 2010 and leading it to a widely unexpected Premier League title in 2016.
"They’ve been amazing. They’ve come in and got us out of debt and avoided relegation. They won the Premier League and now it's this," Meighan told Sky News of Srivaddhanaprabha and his family. "It feels like it's died. The dream is dead."
Meighan recounted meeting Srivaddhanaprabha in person when Kasabian played at the King Power Stadium in 2016 and making "amazing memories" during the encounters.
"I remember meeting him. We met a couple of times. We played the stadium here twice," he told Capital East Midlands. "I met him on the stage and gave him a hug. Just amazing memories and now it feels like it's dead. Leicester City feels like it's dead at the minute. It's going to take a long time to recover."
Kasabian previously paid a joint tribute to Srivaddhanaprabha on its Twitter account, writing: "We are really shocked and saddened by the events of last night. Our thoughts are with everyone at @LCFC, their friends and their families X."
Srivaddhanaprabha's helicopter took off from the King Power Stadium around 8:30pm on Saturday according to witnesses, an hour after Leicester City's 1-1 tie with West Ham United. Two members of the club owner's staff, Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, also died in the crash, as well as passenger Izabela Roza Lechowicz and pilot Eric Swaffer.
Leicester City confirmed Srivaddhanaprabha's death in a statement on Sunday night, saying it was left "with the deepest regret and a collective broken heart."
Legions of fans paid tribute to the chairman following the news of his death, leaving bouquets of flowers, jerseys and other tokens of gratitude and admiration outside of the King Power Stadium. One of the messages scribbled on top of a yellow jersey read: "You made a dream reality that we will never forget! And we will never forget you!"
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