Two dead following suspected crowd crush at O2 Academy Brixton event

Police are appealing for witnesses after two women died following a suspected “crowd crush” at London’s Brixton O2 Academy on December 15th.

A 33-year-old mother of two, Rebecca Ikumelo, passed away in hospital on Saturday morning and 23-year-old Gabrielle Hutchinson, who was working as security on the night, sadly also died in the early hours of December 19th. Another woman, aged 21, is still in critical condition following the catastrophic accident.

The incident happened ahead of an Asake headline show at the venue, with the artist tweeting before the show, asking people without a ticket not to attend.

A statement issued by the Metropolitan Police says officers were called to the O2 Academy Brixton at 21:35 following reports of a “large number of people were attempting to force entry to the venue.”

“Officers, London Ambulance Service (LAS) and the London Fire Brigade attended and found a number of people with injuries believed to have been caused by crushing.” the statement continues.

According to a report from The Guardian, Afrobeats artist Asake called off the show 10 minutes after appearing on stage. Videos of the evening have been circulating across social media.

The Metropolitan Police are urging any witnesses to speak with the police by calling 101 and referencing 6725/15Dec, and to share any videos from the scene with @MetCC on Twitter.

Asake has also released a follow-up statement on the news of Ikumelo’s death: 

💔 pic.twitter.com/ne110ugRFb

— ASAKE (@asakemusik) December 17, 2022