Leicester City footballers have visited a Thai temple to pay their respects to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the club’s late owner.
The popular billionaire, along with four other people, were killed when his helicopter crashed and burst into flames as it left the King Power Stadium on 27 October.
Image: Jamie Vardy was among those who attended the funeral ceremony in Bangkok
Leicester City manager Claude Puel led many of the club’s star players – including England defender Harry Maguire, striker Jamie Vardy and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel – into the Buddhist temple in Bangkok on Sunday.
The 60-year-old’s funeral began behind closed doors on Saturday, and an official ceremony to mark his passing will last until 9 November.
Other players who made the 13-hour flight after winning a match against Cardiff on Saturday included captain Wes Morgan, England defender Ben Chilwell, James Maddison, Marc Albrighton Shinji Okazaki, Andy King, Wilfred Ndidi and Christian Fuchs.
Image: Leicester City players and staff with Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s son Aiyawatt
In total, about 40 representatives from the club travelled to Thailand.
They walked through the grounds of the Wat Debsirindrawas temple in Bangkok, wearing black suits and ties.
Many thought of Mr Srivaddhanaprabha as a father figure after he oversaw the club’s remarkable 2015-16 Premier League title campaign.
Image: Shinji Okazaki also paid respects and expressed his condolences at the Buddhist temple
Others who died when the helicopter came down in a car park were two of his staff members, Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz.
Mr Srivaddhanaprabha rose from having a single store in Bangkok to owning the duty-free King Power empire, whose shops are widespread at Thailand’s airports.
His funeral ceremony began on Saturday with a Buddhist bathing rite using water given by the Thai king.
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The honour is traditionally granted at funerals of high-ranking state officials or citizens who had devoted their lives to the good of the country.
The body will be kept for a further 100 days.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has begun examining wreckage recovered from the crash site and the in-flight recorder.
