Four people were injured at a crowd crush at a concert venue in London, while in total eight people are reported to have suffered injuries on Thursday. Initial reports say that the ‘distressing’ crush occurred after thousands of people stormed into London’s O2 Academy Brixton, forcing their entries into the venue at a performance of the Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter Asake.
So far, there are no reports of any fatalities.
Videos shared by people on social media, reportedly from a health facility close to the concert event venue, showed hundreds of people pushing to get in.
“Detectives are investigating the circumstances which led to four people sustaining critical injuries,” the London Metropolitan police was quoted as saying by AFP.
Two “less seriously injured” people were treated at the scene while the eight others were taken to hospital by ambulance.
No arrests have been made, the Met noted.
“This is an extremely upsetting incident which has left four people critically ill in hospital,” Commander Ade Adelekan said.
“A police investigation has been launched, and it will be as thorough and as forensic as necessary to establish exactly what happened last night.”
He added specialist officers will examine the scene and CCTV, but appealed to anyone with information to come forward.
Concert was cancelled shortly after stampede
The concert was cancelled 10 minutes after Asake appeared on stage, The Guardian reported.
A video on social media showed him going on stage to say: “They said outside is f****d up already. So we have to end the show. I don’t know why. It’s not me.”
Another man then came onto the stage to explain: “We have stopped the show because they breached the door. You have got 3,000 people have broken the door outside and because of security, police have asked us to close the show. We apologise to you. This is nothing to do with us.”
Concert venue had issued a note of caution before
Prior to the Asake concert, O2 Academy Brixton had issued a note of caution on social media. “When attending a show, please arrive in good time. Security measures are in place, including bag checks on arrival. Large bags – including rucksacks – are not allowed, so please make alternative arrangements,” it wrote on social media,” it had said.
When attending a show, please arrive in good time. Security measures are in place, including bag checks on arrival. Large bags – including rucksacks – are not allowed, so please make alternative arrangements.
No arrests have taken place so far. Investigators from specialist crime have launched an urgent investigation. Cordons remain in place at the O2 Academy.