Ou Est Le Swimming Pool singer 'injured fan before killing himself'

The tragic death of Charles Haddon, frontman for Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, occurred hours after the singer injured a fan during a stage dive. According to authorities, Haddon's fears over the incident – which might have seen the fan injured for life – may have spurred Haddon's decision to kill himself.

Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, a London-based synth-pop group, were performing at the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium when Haddon suddenly launched himself from the stage. "As people were completely surprised by this, they jumped away instead of catching him," a witness told News.com.au. However, one fan did not have time to move out of the way and was injured when Haddon landed near her, causing a "near riot" in the crowd. Although the fan is now expected to make a full recovery, she suffered injuries to one leg and four dorsal vertebrae. "The view of the girl on the stretcher [affected] Haddon," a crew member for the Pukkelpop festival told Belgian newspaper De Standaard. Haddon, 22, was reportedly heard saying: "I hope she pulls through. I hope she will be able to walk."

"I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt anyone," another eyewitness said. "The look in his eyes when he stood up and they pulled the girl from the ground was very scary." The concert was cut short, with Ou Est Le Swimming Pool having a "furious argument" backstage. Later that night, Haddon's body was found in the car park.

"We have expressed our condolences to Haddon's friends and family – the case is now with the public prosecutor to investigate on the event," Katrien Goossens, press officer for Pukkelpop, said. The band issued a short message on their MySpace: "We are all so deeply saddened to confirm that our friend Charlie Haddon passed away yesterday, Friday 20 August."

Ou Est Le Swimming Pool were due to play Australia's Parklife festival next month. Their debut album is due in October.

This article was amended on 26 August 2010. The original said that Charles Heddon's body was found under a telephone mast. This has been corrected.

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