Football team owner's helicopter crashes near stadium after premier league match
Leicester : A helicopter belonging to Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha crashed on Saturday near the stadium of his Premier League club Leicester City. The helicopter was seen enveloped in flames in mobile phone images from the scene and an AFP photographer later saw smoke coming from the wreckage. It crashed shortly after take-off following Saturday's game against West Ham in a car park close to King Power Stadium -- a scene of jubilation two years ago when underdogs Leicester City won the Premier League in a remarkable footballing feat.
"Emergency services are currently at the King Power Stadium where an aircraft came down in a car park behind the ground," police said.
Thai businessman Vichai, who has poured millions into the club, often takes off from the pitch in his helicopter when he attends a Leicester home game but it is not known whether he was in the aircraft when it crashed.
'A huge fireball'
Freelance photographer Ryan Brown, who was covering the game, told BBC Radio 5 Live he saw the helicopter rise out of the stadium before it crashed.
"Literally the engine stopped and I turned around, and it made a bit of a whirring noise. It turned silent, blades started spinning and then there was a big bang," he said.
He said he saw "a huge fireball" when he ran to the scene.
The identities of the pilot and any passengers on board have not yet been confirmed. It is also not yet known if anyone on the ground was injured.
"We are assisting Leicestershire Police and the emergency services in dealing with a major incident at King Power Stadium," the club said in a statement.
Vichai, who owns the King Power company, bought the club in 2010 and became chairman the following February.
He is a beloved figure in the club and the city.
"Thoughts and prayers with all -- particularly owners who've done so much for Club and our City," Leicester's mayor Peter Soulsby tweeted.
Leicester footballers Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire both tweeted praying hands emojis.
Sky Sports said the helicopter took off from the pitch between 1930 and 1945 GMT but developed problems shortly afterwards with its tail rotor.
The local ambulance service said it was alerted at 2138 GMT.
"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," it tweeted.
Air crash investigators are also examining the scene.
courtesy : sports.ndtv.com
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mumbai family deaths: FDA finds no watermelon vendor in area to check for affected stock
Mumbai (PTI): The Food and Drug Administration team probing the cause of death of four members of a family in south Mumbai's JJ Marg area have not been able to zero in on any watermelon vendor in the vicinity to check if the fruit had a role to play in the ill-fated incident, an official said on Thursday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am, hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
"The FDA team visited the house of Dokadia and collected samples of chicken pulao and watermelon pieces. After two days, the leftover chicken pulao had developed fungus growth. The team also tried to locate watermelon vendors to check for any affected lots," he said.
But no vendors were found in the area for the past two days, preventing the FDA team from getting samples, the official added.
The FDA has requested the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to share the report on the food samples collected by them, he added.
A senior Mumbai police official said the force is waiting for FSL reports in the case, adding that questions on presence of sedatives etc in the fruit could be answered only then.
The statements of the kin of the deceased are being recorded to ascertain if it is a case of mass suicide, and it is being checked if the Dokadia family were in debt or distressed over some issue, the police official said.
