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A hero police officer desperately tried to break the windows of the helicopter used by Leicester City’s owner to rescue trapped passengers after it crashed.

The helicopter used by billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was engulfed in a huge fireball after it crashed in the staff car park at the King Power Stadium on Saturday night.

Mr Srivaddhanaprabha was among five who died on board the helicopter, which crashed moments after it took off from the pitch.

Leicestershire Police said the others who died in the helicopter crash were Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, who were members of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's staff, pilot Eric Swaffer and passenger Izabela Roza Lechowicz.

As a shocked community came together to leave tributes at the stadium on Sunday, witnesses have described how a police officer sprinted towards the wreckage to help the passengers.

Speaking to the MailOnline, a Leicestershire Police spokesman said the officer, who has been treated in hospital, tried to break the windows with a baton.

It is said the policeman, who has not yet been identified, had to pull back after the helicopter exploded at around 8.30pm as he fought to help those affected by the crash.

The police spokesman said: “He had been on routine match duty and ran towards the helicopter when it crashed.

“He went right up to the windows trying to break them, we understand with his baton which he had been carrying as a matter of course.

“He wanted to help free the passengers but after the explosion the helicopter was engulfed in flames and he was forced back. He was very brave.”

She added that the officer is “traumatised and shocked” and may need counselling.

Another witness Leo Bruka told the BBC that two police officers were near the crash scene.

He said: “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.

“Then there is an explosion and they pulled back because the fire was too hot."

He said he also saw a severely distressed woman about 20 metres from where the helicopter plunged to the group and believed it may have just missed her.

Witnesses saw the helicopter spin out of control and plummet to the ground near the club’s staff car park at about 8.30pm on Saturday after Leicester’s 1-1 draw with West Ham.

Shocking images showed a wall of flames and smoke billowing into the sky after the helicopter crash which sent people running for their lives.

Sky Sports News reporter Rob Dorsett said people were "running for their lives" in the aftermath of the crash.

"The car park was still populated with people at the time whether that was members of staff leaving the stadium or spectators watching the game. It's so close to the stadium, a couple of hundred metres – if that – from the stands.

"There has be to concern for people who are walking back to their cars or get buses back to the train station and any impact that would have.

"An eyewitness and his nephew ran for their lives, they were that concerned they were going to be hit by the wreckage of the helicopter. It burst into flames as it hit the ground."

Fans were gathering to lay tributes outside the stadium after the crash, which has been described as "the darkest day in the club's history."

Small bouquets were left outside the ground by members of the public on Sunday morning alongside a large image of the Hindu god Ganesh which was also propped up in amidst the flowers.