Woman dies of injuries following Brixton O2 Academy crush

A woman who suffered severe injuries in a crush at last week’s Asake gig at London’s Brixton O2 Academy has died.

Rebecca Ikumelo, a 33-year-old nursing graduate from east London, died in hospital on Saturday morning, according to the authorities.

The Afro-pop concert had to be abandoned part-way through after a “large number of people” tried to force their way inside on Thursday, the Met Police said.

Two other women aged 21 and 23 remain in a critical condition, police added. Initial reports said that four concert-goers were in a critical condition, with eight people having been rushed to hospital after the crush.

Academy Music Group, which owns and runs the venue, said in a statement: “All at O2 Academy Brixton and Academy Music Group are deeply saddened by the news of the tragic death of Rebecca Ikumelo.

“We send our heartfelt condolences to Rebecca’s family and friends, and our thoughts are with everyone affected by this devastating news at this extremely difficult time.”

Speaking over the weekend, Chief Superintendent Colin Wingrove, policing commander for Lambeth and Southwark, said: that an urgent investigation is currently under way led by detectives from its Specialist Crime Command and cordons remained in place as officers continued to work at the scene.

He said: “This is still a fast moving and evolving picture and we are working to establish the events that led up to the incident.

“We are also aware of a vast amount of footage on social media and of course this will be examined as part of the investigation along with footage from officers’ body worn video cameras.

“We are working incredibly closely with our partners and community members and would like to thank them for their support so far in the investigation. We would also like to thank people for coming forward with information.”

Asake said he was “overwhelmed with grief” and “devastated” by her death. He added that he had spoken to Ms Ikumelo’s family and asked people to “keep them in our prayers”.

In a statement released through the Met, her family said Ms Ikumelo was an “adorable mother of two children who loved working with kids”.