A former Thai beauty queen was among those killed when the Leicester helicopter burst into flames shortly after taking off from the ground.

The helicopter belonging to Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha crashed shortly after taking off from the King Power Stadium on Saturday night. It plunged from a height of around 200 feet and crashed into the concrete, immediately becoming engulfed in flames.

All five people on board died. One of them was Leicester boss Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Pilot Eric Swaffer, his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz, who is also a pilot, were also killed in the crash. Two members of Srivaddhanaprabha’s staff were also killed. They are Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare.

Pilots Eric Swaffer and Izabela Roza Lechowicz

Nusara Suknamai, originally from Bangkok, was a former Miss Thailand Universe competitor. The glamorous beauty queen came second in Miss Universe Thailand 2005 and Miss Photogenic in the same year.

Her last Instagram post was a picture of her in red lipstick taken on Wednesday.

Pilot Eric has been credited with saving lives by guiding the aircraft away from crowds on the ground. Eric is understood to have flown members of the Royal Family, the Dalai Lama and worked for Channel 4’s Big Breakfast and Virgin Radio during a 20-year career.

Kaveporn Punpare