Kasper Schmeichel ‘witnessed terrible things’ as he watched Leicester chairman’s helicopter burn after tragic crash

LEICESTER star Kasper Schmeichel "witnessed terrible things" as the helicopter burned with owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha on board on Saturday.

Foxes boss Claude Puel revealed the keeper's pain as he faced the media for the first time since the tragedy.

The Danish stopper was seen in tears earlier this week as he observed the sea of tributes left by grieving fans.

Mr Srivaddhanaprabha and four others lost their lives in the tragedy at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Vichai's "heroic" pilot - and his co-pilot girlfriend - also died in the crash, along with two members of of the Thai billionaire's staff.

Puel said: “I don't want to give all the details of course.

"Just for Kasper. He lived this situation and he saw terrible things.

"Kasper, like all the players (who) lived all these events in the past with the chairman, are devastated.

"All my squad has a lot of sadness and are of course upset by this event.

"Of course it was a difficult moment just after the incident and all this week."

Today the charred and mangled wreckage of the AgustaWestland AW169 was craned away.

Shocking photos showed the full horrifying extent of the damage after the chopper plummeted 200ft to the ground.

It quickly erupted in a fireball, preventing first responders from mounting a rescue.

Puel also insisted the result is not important when they play Cardiff on Saturday — their first match since the disaster.

The Frenchman's players have a responsibility to "continue the Leicester City (that Vichai) built" and that the team will play in his memory this weekend.

Puel said: "Playing football has not been at (the) front of our minds this week.

"But for this weekend, and all the matches thereafter, we play to honour a man who did so much for our club.

"The result is not important, but our desire, our actions to give our best on the pitch to honour our chairman, is the most important thing.

"We have a responsibility about the memory and the work he put in place. I'm confident after I saw my players at training that they can give their best.

"We have a responsibility to play for him and perform for him. We will play for him, for 'Top' (Aiyawatt, Srivaddhanaprabha's son) and his family."

He added: "All the players are devastated. All my squad was with a lot of sadness and upset about this event.

"It's a difficult moment, just after the incident."

Leicester's players and staff have been offered grief counselling in the wake of the disaster.

Earlier today Claudio Ranieri - who led Leicester to their famous Premier League glory in 2015-16 - became the latest to pay tributes to Vichai at the King Power Stadium.

The 67-year-old Italian, who managed Leicester between 2015 and 2017, arrived at the ground to lay a wreath in memory of his former boss.

Leicester supporters continue to arrive in their droves to pay their respects to the 61-year-old, who in his eight years as owner saw the club earn promotion to the top flight and produce the unthinkable.

A sea of flags, shirts, scarves and flowers have been left outside of the stadium since the tragedy.

The likes of Jamie and Rebekah Vardy have also made individual trips, after the entire squad mourned at the ground on Monday.