Leicester City owner’s helicopter crashes leaving stadium
The Leicester City owner’s helicopter has crashed in a car park outside the club’s ground as it left the stadium following a Premier League match.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was in the helicopter when it came down at about 20:30 BST on Saturday, a source close to the family has told the BBC.
One witness said he saw Leicester player Kasper Schmeichel run out of the stadium towards the scene of the crash.
It is not known how many other people were on board the helicopter.
Leicester had drawn 1-1 against West Ham United at the King Power Stadium.
The game kicked off at 17:30 and finished about one hour before the helicopter took off.
Under Mr. Srivaddhanaprabha’s ownership, Leicester City won the Premier League in 2016, having started the season as 5,000/1 outsiders.
One Leicester season ticker holder, who did not wish to be named, said: “I saw Kasper Schmeichel run out first [from the stadium] and then loads of security guards and stewards.
“I was outside the ground but it crashed on the other side.”
Another witness said it appeared “the tail propeller wasn’t working, putting it into a spin”.
In the early hours of Sunday, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service’s Assistant Chief Fire Officer Andrew Brodie tweeted that he had just left “multiagency strategic meetings” at Leicestershire Police’s HQ.
He described the crash as “clearly serious and tragic”, adding: “Please don’t speculate on cause or who may be involved. Think of families, friends, responders, and @LCFC and their fans.”
Freelance photographer Ryan Brown was covering the game and saw the helicopter clear the King Power Stadium before it crashed.
He told BBC Radio Leicester: “The engine stopped and I turned round and it made a bit of a whirring noise, like a grinding noise.
“The helicopter just went silent, I turned round and it was just spinning, out of control. And then there was a big bang and then [a] big fireball.”
Leo Bruka told 5 Live that he saw two police officers whose car was near the crash scene.
“One of them was looking for something and the other one, he ran straight away to the helicopter and he was trying to break the window,” he said.
“Then there is an explosion and they pulled back because the fire was too hot.”
Leicestershire Police said officers were working alongside the other emergency services, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and Leicester City FC to establish the circumstances of the collision.
In the early hours of Sunday the force tweeted that the AAIB, which said it had sent a team to the stadium, was leading the investigation.
Pittsburgh synagogue shooting: Suspect charged with murder
A man suspected of killing 11 people in a synagogue in Pittsburgh has been charged with murder – in what is believed to be the worst anti-Semitic attack in recent US history.
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Robert Bowers, 46, is accused of opening fire at the Tree of Life synagogue during its Sabbath service.
He faces 29 criminal counts, including use of a firearm to commit murder.
Prosecutors say he will also face hate crime charges, and could face the death penalty.
President Donald Trump described the attack as a “wicked act of mass murder”.
Six people – including four police officers – were injured in Saturday’s attack.
The suspect was also wounded in a shootout with police
Hundreds of people – from the neighbourhood and also all across Pittsburgh – later gathered for an interfaith vigil for the victims of the attack in the synagogue in Squirrel Hill.
Sophia Levin, a local resident and one of the organisers, told the BBC people wanted to be “together, not alone”, and the vigil would help heal the city.
President Trump said he would visit Pittsburgh soon. He also ordered US flags at government buildings to be flown at half-mast until 31 October.
The 29 charges were announced in a statement issued by the US Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Pennsylvania:
Eleven counts of obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death
Eleven counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence
Four counts of obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer
Three counts of use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence
On Saturday morning, worshippers had gathered at the synagogue for a baby naming ceremony during the Sabbath.
Squirrel Hill has one of the largest Jewish populations in Pennsylvania and this would have been the synagogue’s busiest day of the week.
Police said they received first calls about an active shooter at 09:54 local time (13:54 GMT), and sent officers to the scene a minute later.
According to reports, Mr. Bowers, a white male, entered the building during the morning service armed with an assault rifle and three handguns.
The gunman had already shot dead 11 people and was leaving the synagogue after about 20 minutes when he encountered Swat officers and exchanged fire with them, FBI agent Robert Jones said.
The attacker then moved back into the building to try to hide from the police.
He surrendered after a shootout, and is now being treated in hospital for what has been described as multiple gunshot wounds.
