Three people remained in critical condition on Friday after sustaining injuries believed to have been caused by a crush the night before at a packed London concert at one of Britain’s biggest music venues, the capital’s police said.
A large crowd tried to force their way into the concert, a Thursday night sold-out performance by Asake, a Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter, at the venue, the O2 Academy Brixton, forcing emergency services to respond and forcing the concert to stop. finish early.
Video from the scene showed a crowd pouring through the main entrance of the venue, as cheers and screams echoed through the throng of fans spreading onto the main road, as well as police struggling to maintain control even as they batons waved.
“This is so dangerous,” you hear someone say.
Ade Adelekan, a commander of the Metropolitan Police, the police force serving London, said authorities had opened an investigation and it would be “as thorough and forensic as necessary”.
A total of eight people were taken to hospital, four of whom were initially in critical condition. It was not clear on Friday whether the injuries occurred inside or outside the venue.
Superintendent Colin Wingrove of the Metropolitan Police said outside Brixton police station on Friday afternoon that more than 4,000 people had been present “last night”.
The show was advertised as sold out and the venue has a capacity of nearly 5,000, according to the website. It was not clear whether the superintendent only meant people with tickets or also those trying to enter the venue without tickets, and police did not respond to questions about the case.
Video footage and testimonials from people who said they were at the site Thursday evening showed chaotic scenes.
Akin Oluwaleimu, 53, went to the concert with his 14-year-old daughter, where they met a “noisy” atmosphere outside, according to the BBC, adding that he saw two women who had passed out and were being taken away.
“We didn’t go in,” he said. “When we left, we were told the show had stopped.”
The episode led to the cancellation of the concert, the last of three sold-out shows at the venue for 27-year-old Asake, whose long-awaited debut album was well received in both the UK and the US this year.
“My heart is with those injured last night,” Asake said in a statement posted to Instagram, noting he had not heard from O2 Academy Brixton about the cause of the outage. He said he was sorry the concert had been cut short. “I pray you get better as soon as possible,” he added.
The O2 Academy Brixton did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said a Twitter message that he was “heartbroken that this could happen to young Londoners enjoying a night out in our city.”
“I will not rest until we have the answers their loved ones and the local community need and deserve,” he added.
Speaking outside Brixton police station on Friday, Superintendent Wingrove confirmed that a videotaped incident in which a police officer “apparently shoved a member of the public” was under internal review. He also said another member of the public had been arrested in connection with an assault on a police officer.
The police station in Brixton, south London, is only about 100 yards from the site and there was a cordon on Friday, with the normally busy road next door closed to traffic.
A “sold out” sign still hung over the entrance to the building, and trash was scattered on the street outside.
London is home to a large African community, and the Afrobeats genre has become increasingly popular in the capital in recent years, with artists often selling sold-out shows.