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Saturday, December 02, 2006

Arrest of 3 QPR Youth Players Over Death at Train Station & Serious Injury to Youth Player Now in National Press

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News of the arrest of three QPR Youth players after a death at a London train statin (Earl's Court) and the serious injury to a fourth QPR youth player is now in the national press.

BBC - Tube fall footballer 'critical'
A promising young footballer is in a critical condition after he fell in front of a Tube train that hit and killed a Vietnamese student.
The injured youth was named as Harry Smart, 17, of QPR's youth team.
Student Tu Quang Hoang Vu, 25, died when he was struck by the same Piccadilly Line train on 23 November at Earl's Court.
The Kingston University student had come to England to secure a future for himself and his family, relatives said.
"His loss has left us devastated," they said in a statement, appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Mr Smart suffered a fractured skull and a punctured artery in the incident which British Transport police are treating as suspicious.
He is believed to have been a former team-mate of Kiyan Prince, who was stabbed to death outside his school.
The retrial of a teenage schoolboy accused of murdering the young footballer is due to begin on 11 December
Shocked and saddened
Three members of the Queens Park Rangers youth football team have been questioned and released on bail after Mr Vu's death.
CCTV images have been released of potentially significant witnesses who may have seen the moments leading up to his fall. Mr Vu was pronounced dead at the scene.
British Transport Police contacted Mr Vu's family in Hanoi to tell them of his death and ask for help in a witness appeal.
"We are deeply shocked and saddened by the sudden and tragic loss of a much loved son and brother," said a family statement.
He was a postgraduate student studying a year-long master of architecture course.
The university will shortly be honouring his memory by planting a tree at its Knights Park campus.
BBC

The Times/Michael Horsnell -QPR youth players arrested over Tube death

Three youth team players for Queens Park Rangers football club have been arrested on suspicion of murder over the death of a promising young Vietnamese architect.
Reports under investigation by police suggest that the footballers, two aged 16 and one 17, were "horsing around" on a platform at Earl’s Court Station in London when Tu Quang Hoang Vu, 25, fell into the path of an eastbound Piccadilly Line train.
The fatal fall also left footballer Harry Smart, 17, in a critical condition with head and leg injuries.
It is believed that Mr Smart was play-fighting on a team-mate’s shoulders when he fell during the rush-hour on November 23, taking Mr Vu with him.
The footballers are all friends and former team-mates of the trainee footballer Kiyan Prince, 15, who was stabbed to death this year outside the London Academy School in Edgware, north London. Smart was a spokesman for QPR at the funeral.
A coroner’s inquest into the student’s death opened today at Westminster Coroner’s Court where it emerged he was completing a masters degree at Kingston University.
In a statement, his family said: "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the sudden and tragic loss of a much loved son and brother. Tu was an enthusiastic and brilliant student who was much loved by his friends both in Hanoi and here in England. He came to England to receive the best possible education to secure a future for himself and his family at home in Vietnam.
"His loss has left us devastated by this incident. Tu’s mother and father were too traumatised to travel to see their son and await his return to their family home."
An anonymous tube worker described the incident on a website, saying: "I spoke to the driver of the train and he said it just looked like a bunch of youths mucking around.
"One barged another as the train came in, and as he lost his balance he grabbed another to steady himself and they both fell under."
A British Transport Police spokeswoman said: "Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder and released on bail, but no charges have been brought.
"It is being treated as a suspicious incident. We are examining evidence and appealing for witnesses."
A spokesman for QPR FC said: "The club can confirm that three members of the youth team are currently helping the British Transport Police with their enquiries while one remains in a serious condition.
The thoughts of everyone at QPR are with the families of those involved."
Police have spoken to a number of witnesses who were on the platform at the time of the incident.
Through examination of CCTV footage, there are a further seven potentially significant eye witnesses officers would like to talk to.
In a statement, Kingston University said that Tu Quang Hoang Vu was a postgraduate student studying a year-long Master of Architecture who had previously studied architecture for six years at Hanoi Architectural University in Vietnam.
Carol Mancke, his course director at the university, said: "Tu was a student who showed great promise and potential. We had no hesitation in offering him a place and were extremely impressed by the glowing credentials and exceptional examples of project work he sent us with his application.
"He was just beginning a design project with two fellow students and was extremely popular with his fellow course-mates and lecturers."
The university will shortly honour his memory by planting a tree at its campus.
The Times

The Sun -QPR trio in Tube 'murder' probe By JAMES CLENCH December 02, 2006
THREE footballers have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a student was killed by a Tube train.
The trio, Queens Park Rangers youth team stars aged 16 and 17, were released on bail.
A team-mate, Harry Smart, was “stable” last night in a London hospital following the horror.
It has been claimed Smart, 17, was larking about and sitting on a pal’s shoulders when he fell and took bystander Tu Quang Hoang Vu, 25, with him.
Mr Vu’s relatives said yesterday he came to England from Vietnam “to secure a future for himself and his family”.
He was studying architecture at Kingston University, where tutors said he was “exceptional”.
He and Harry fell under a Piccadilly line train at Earl’s Court on November 23. Smart suffered a fractured skull and punctured artery.
He and his team-mates are all friends — and played with soccer starlet Kiyan Prince, 15, who was stabbed to death outside his school six months ago.
Smart was a spokesman for QPR at the funeral.
A Tube worker wrote on a website: “The train driver said it just looked like a bunch of youths mucking around.
“One barged into another who tried to steady himself and both fell under.”
The Sun

The Mirror - 2 December 2006 - QPR TRAIN DEATH QUIZ
THREE teenage footballers have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man fell under a London tube train.
The Queen's Park Rangers youth teamers were alleged to have been play-fighting on a busy platform at Earls Court.
It is thought a fourth boy QPR's Harry Smart, 17, was on a friend's shoulders when he knocked into student architect Tu Quang Hoang Vu, 25. Both fell under the train.
Harry is fighting for his life. He was a teammate of Kiyan Prince, 16, killed in May. A QPR source said: "It's unbelievable that another tragedy should hit the same team."
Mirror

This is London -Tube plunge teen was in Kiyan team
The teenager left fighting for his life when he and another man fell in front of a Tube train at Earl's Court last week is a former teammate of stabbed teenage footballer Kiyan Prince.
The identities of the two men involved in the horror plunge were revealed for the first time today. Young architect Tu Quang Hoang Vu, 25, was killed in the fall and soccer hopeful Harry Smart, 17, was left hospitalised in a critical condition.
It is thought the teenager had been "play fighting" with teammates on the platform when they accidentally knocked into bystander Mr Vu, from Vietnam, a masters student at Kingston University. The footballers, all of them regular players in the Queens Park Rangers' youth team, were friends of Kiyan Prince, 15, who was stabbed to death outside a school six months ago.
Smart, who lives with his parents in Pinner, north-west London, acted as a spokesman for the youth team at his funeral. A club source said: "It's unbelievable that another tragedy should hit the same youth team so soon. It feels like a curse."
His parents were last night at his bedside. His father said: "We are very shaken up by everything."
An online account of the incident, which happened during last Thursday's rush hour, has been posted on the internet by an anonymous Tube worker. It said: "Four youths were mucking about on the platform when one knocked into another passenger, and they both went under the train."
Three youths were arrested and have been released on bail. Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them on 020 7391 5275.
This is London

Last Saturday, The club issued this statement:
QPR can confirm that three members of the Youth Team are currently helping the British Transport Police with their enquiries while one remains in a serious condition.
This follows an incident at Earls Court tube station last Thursday.
The thoughts of everyone at QPR are with the families of those involved.
The Club will make no further comment relating to this incident at this time.
Statement

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