Heartbroken Leicester City fans have been queuing to sign a book of condolence in memory of the club’s owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
The 60-year-old Thai billionaire was among five people killed when his helicopter crashed shortly after taking off from the King Power Stadium on Saturday evening.
The football club opened a book of condolence at the stadium this morning and there has been a steady stream of supporters arriving since the early hours.
Supporters continue to lay their tributes, including flowers, scarves and shirts to the ever-growing shrine which now extends down one side of the stadium.
Leicester City fans have been queuing up to sign a book of condolence to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the club’s owner who died in a helicopter crash at the weekend
Fans wearing the club’s colours wrote messages in the book near the stadium this morning
A shrine has been set up to the businessman, who took Leicester to a Premier League title
Hundreds of thousands have laid out shirt, scarves and flowers outside Leicester’s King Power stadium in tribute
It emerged today that the model of helicopter involved in the crash, an AgustaWestland AW169, has a ‘blemish-free’ record.
A spokesman for its manufacturer told the Daily Telegraph: ‘This is the first ever accident involving an AW169 helicopter.’
Leicester are expected to make a decision in the next 24 hours on whether the players feel ready to face Cardiff on Saturday following their owner’s death.
Current plans are for the fixture to go ahead but the mental state of the team is being assessed and the Premier League are sensitive to the unique trauma of the situation.
At 8am this morning the club opened a specially-erected marquee where fans and people from the wider community in Leicester can come and write their messages in the book.
The marquee, which is situated outside the club shop, will be open every day from 8am until 10pm ‘for the foreseeable future.’ People unable to visit the stadium can leave a message in an online book of condolence via the club’s website.
Leicester’s City Hall and County Hall will also light up in blue this week to honour Srivaddhanapradha, as well as Nusara Suknamai, Kaveporn Punpare, Izabela Roza Lechowicz and pilot Eric Swaffer who also died in the crash.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) continue to conduct its investigations as it tries to establish what caused Saturday’s tragedy.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s son and heir Aiyawatt (right) and his mother Aimon (left) were among the mourners who flew to the Midlands from Thailand to lay a wreath outside the King Power Stadium yesterday
Mr Srivaddhanaprabha’s wife and son are pictured placing a floral tribute in the centre of the pitch at the King Power stadium, where his helicopter took off from on Saturday before crashing down to earth. Leicester City’s team and staff assembled in black as they watched
The pilots managed to steer the aircraft away from cars despite the fact it was spinning out of control and smashed into the ground on an industrial estate (circled) away from huge crowds
The scorched wreckage of the AW169 AgustaWestland was covered up as air accident investigators took over from police
Leicester were due to play Southampton tonight at the King Power Stadium but that Carabao Cup tie was postponed on Sunday. It is not yet clear whether the Premier League match away at Cardiff this weekend will go ahead.
On Monday, son and vice chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha was joined by his mother and Vichai’s wife Aimon at the ground as they laid a wreath during an emotional morning.
Club officials, including director of football Jon Rudkin and chief executive Susan Whelan, also attended as they viewed the floral tributes.
The president of the Thai FA Somyot Poompanmoung and his wife, Potjaman Poompamoung, were among the group.
The first-team squad, along with manager Claude Puel, then spent 10 minutes looking at the tributes on Monday afternoon.
Mr Srivaddhanaprabha with his sons Aiyawatt and Apichet (right) and his daughter Aroonroong, wife Aimon and daughter Voramas Srivaddhanaprabha (left, right to left)
Kaveporn Punpare was an assistant to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and sadly perished in the doomed flight, alongside his colleague Nusara Suknamai, right, a former beauty queen who worked for the billionaire
Izabela Lechowicz and boyfriend Eric Swaffer pictured in the cockpit on a previous trip, and right on Saturday landing on the pitch before their crash minutes later, were heading for Luton Airport when they crashed