Sea of sadness: Stunning aerial images reveal true scale of thousands of shirts, scarves and flowers that wrap around Leicester’s stadium in tribute to owner
- Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was killed in a helicopter crash along with four other people on October 27
- Thousands of shirts, scarves, flags, flowers and cards have been left outside the King Power Stadium
- Leicester City’s players have visited Thailand to attend their late owner’s funeral and pay their respects
- Claude Puel’s men beat Cardiff 1-0 on Saturday in their first game since the tragedy at the King Power
The scale of tributes left for late Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha have been revealed in stunning aerial photos of the club’s King Power Stadium.
Thousands of shirts, scarves, flags, cards and flowers have been laid outside the club’s ground over the past 10 days as the football community comes to terms with the death of the popular Thai businessman.
Srivaddhanaprabha was killed alongside four other people when his helicopter crashed in a car park outside the King Power Stadium shortly after the Foxes’ 1-1 draw with West Ham on October 27.
Thousands of tributes have been left for Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and the four others killed in the helicopter crash
Football fans have laid shirts, scarves, flags, flowers, cards and more outside the King Power Stadium over the last 10 days
The tributes for Srivaddhanaprabha and the others killed in the crash have spread around the outside of the ground
Leicester are yet to play a home game since the accident but face Burnley at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon
His huge impact on the club can be gauged by the number of tributes left, which have now spread along the length of one stand of the club’s 32,000-seater stadium.
However, it has not just been Foxes fans who have visited the King Power to pay their respects to a man who helped Leicester rise from the Championship to the champions of England in just six years.
Photos taken on Monday show how the number of tributes has grown since the tragedy occurred, with more expected to be left in the build-up to this weekend’s game with Burnley.
Saturday’s Premier League fixture will be the first one Claude Puel’s men have played at home since the accident, with a minute’s silence among the tributes expected for Srivaddhanaprabha and the other victims.
The tributes for Srivaddhanaprabha have now spread to cover the length of a stand at Leicester’s King Power Stadium
Leicester shirts, flags and scarves make up many of the tributes left outside the ground, while there are plenty of flowers too
Supporters wander outside the King Power Stadium to take a glimpse at the huge amount of tributes which have been left
A floral tribute reading ‘The Boss’ sits among shirts, scarves, flags and bunches of flowers outside the club’s ground
Jamie Vardy and the rest of the Leicester squad arrived in Thailand on Sunday – just a day after beating Cardiff 1-0 in their first match since Srivaddhanaprabha’s death – in order to attend their late owner’s funeral and pay their respects.
They attended services on Sunday and Monday as part of the week-long funeral and are due back in the UK on Tuesday as they begin their preparations for an emotional game against Sean Dyche’s side.
Vardy and Harry Maguire were among the players who knelt in front of a shrine dedicated to Srivaddhanaprabha to lay flowers at his Buddhist service in Bangkok.
Manager Puel and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who witness the helicopter crash, also bowed their heads as they listened to tributes at a temple in the Thai capital.
Leicester City’s squad are pictured on their knees at the funeral of their chairman Srivaddhanaprabha in Thailand on Sunday
Striker Jamie Vardy (right) is pictured praying after offering a floral tribute to his late boss Srivaddhanaprabha
Leicester and England star Harry Maguire is pictured preparing to lay a floral tribute at Srivaddhanaprabha’s funeral
Srivaddhanaprabha, who was the fifth-richest person in Thailand, died along with four others in the helicopter crash
Srivaddhanaprabha died outside the King Power Stadium along with four staff, just yards away from the thousands of supporters making their way home following a draw with West Ham.
Nusara Suknamai, Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz also died in the crash.
The owner, who made his money as founder of the King Power duty-free chain, was credited with helping Leicester to their memorable Premier League triumph against odds of 5,000-1 in the 2015-16 season.
Demarai Gray (centre) shows off a message in memory of Srivaddhanaprabha after scoring the winner against Cardiff
Leicester City manager Claude Puel (left) looks sombre as he sits with goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel during the funeral
Thai mourners arrive to attend the funeral at Wat Debsirindrawas Ratchaworawiharn Temple in Bangkok on Sunday
Srivaddhanaprabha’s King Power empire is worth £3.8 billion, according to Forbes, with Vichai having been the fifth-richest person in Thailand.
A devout Buddhist who had monks bless his team’s King Power Stadium regularly for good luck, Vichai and his wife, Aimon Srivaddhanaprabha, had four children.
He was born Vichai Raksriaksorn, but in 2012, the king of Thailand recognised his achievements by bestowing on his family their new surname, which means ‘light of progressive glory’.
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