Woman dies following 3,000 person crush at Asake gig at Brixton O2 Academy - two still in critical condition

A 33 year old woman has died and two are in critical condition after a crush incident at a Asake gig at Brixton O2 Academy in London on Thursday.
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A woman has died following a serious crush incident at Brixton O2 Academy in London on Thursday (December 15), according to the Met Police. Two other women remain in critical condition after 3,000 people attempted to enter the venue.

The Met Police has named the victim as 33-year-old Rebecca Ikumelo from Newham. The incident at a gig by afro-pop singer Asake left four people hospitalised when a large number of people tried to make their way inside the Brixton venue due to the cold, resulting in the crush.

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Chief Superintendent Colin Wingrove, policing commander for Lambeth and Southwark, said: “I’d like to extend my sympathies to all those who have been affected. Having seen some of the really upsetting images on social media our thoughts are with them.

“An urgent investigation is currently underway led by detectives from our Specialist Crime Command and cordons remain in place as officers continue to work at the scene. This is still a fast moving and evolving picture and we are working to establish the events that led up to the incident.”

The incident left eight people injured, and two women aged 21 and 23 are still in hospital fighting for their lives. The Met Police say they are investigating a vast amount of social media footage, and say that there were more than 4,000 witnesses present when around 3,000 tried to enter the venue.

One woman involved in the incident, and one of the four taken to hospital on Thursday night told the BBC: "I couldn’t breathe and I completely passed out. I thought I was dead. I took my last breath and I could not get any more oxygen. I was so scared."

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The Metropolitan Police is looking for help from the public, stating: “We have set up an online page for the submission of photos and videos. There were around 4,000 potential witnesses present at the time of this incident and we want to urge any members of the public with information to come forward.

“We need your information as we try to establish what happened as quickly as we can."

The Metropolitan Police asks any witnesses to call 101 ref 6725/15Dec.

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