Four fans are in a critical condition following a crush at an Asake gig at O2 Academy Brixton, with detectives now investigating the incident.
Police were called to the scene at 9:35pm last night (Thursday) part-way through the afro-pop singer’s show, which had to be cancelled. Thousands are said to have breached the doors at the venue, with an announcement telling fans inside: “You’ve got 3,000 people [who] have broken the doors outside and because of security the police have asked us to close the show.” O2 Academy Brixton’s venue capacity is currently set at 4,921 people. It’s not yet clear how many of those who turned up had genuine tickets or not.
https://twitter.com/DammySNM/status/1603521602678706177
The mass of people led to an inevitable crushing. Eight people in total were taken to hospital as a result, with four now still in a critical condition. Others with injuries sustained by the crushing were treated at the scene.
One woman, a mother from Battersea, told the Evening Standard she’d passed out and thought she’d “taken her last breath”.
Met Police commander Ade Adelekan, meanwhile, said the incident was “extremely distressing”, adding: “This is an extremely upsetting incident which has left four people critically ill in hospital. My thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.
“A police investigation has been launched, and it will be as thorough and as forensic as necessary to establish exactly what happened last night.
Police were called to the scene at 9:35pm last night (Thursday) part-way through the afro-pop singer’s show, which had to be cancelled. Thousands are said to have breached the doors at the venue, with an announcement telling fans inside: “You’ve got 3,000 people [who] have broken the doors outside and because of security the police have asked us to close the show.” O2 Academy Brixton’s venue capacity is currently set at 4,921 people. It’s not yet clear how many of those who turned up had genuine tickets or not.
https://twitter.com/DammySNM/status/1603521602678706177
The mass of people led to an inevitable crushing. Eight people in total were taken to hospital as a result, with four now still in a critical condition. Others with injuries sustained by the crushing were treated at the scene.
One woman, a mother from Battersea, told the Evening Standard she’d passed out and thought she’d “taken her last breath”.
Met Police commander Ade Adelekan, meanwhile, said the incident was “extremely distressing”, adding: “This is an extremely upsetting incident which has left four people critically ill in hospital. My thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.
“A police investigation has been launched, and it will be as thorough and as forensic as necessary to establish exactly what happened last night.
Asake concert Brixton 15th… can you imagine my first concert and it turns out like this pic.twitter.com/4wWKgvZ5Zm
— ghostingdoll (@elsie_leimu) December 15, 2022
“The scene will be examined by specialist officers, CCTV will be viewed, every witness that we can make contact with will be spoken to and all other lines of enquiry will be followed. “Officers are remaining in the area to provide reassurance to the local community in and around Brixton.” Asake later released a message of his own, saying he was “in the process of reaching out to individuals” affected by the incident and explaining he’s not yet been informed “as to what led to the disruption”.Asake statement after the crush at the O2 Academy Brixton last night @LBC @LBCNews pic.twitter.com/cpAOR59WQa
— Charlotte Lynch (@charlotterlynch) December 16, 2022
