Two people have died following "crush" at O2 Academy Brixton

UPDATED: December 19, 15:50

Two women have died after being injured at London’s Brixton O2 Academy in a suspected "crowd crush" on December 15.

The 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 died in the early hours of today.

One other woman aged 21 is still in critical condition following the event.

The suspected crowd crush at Brixton O2 Academy was ahead of an Asake headlining show.

Prior to the event, Asake Tweeted for those to not attend the venue without a valid ticket.

According to a statement from the Metropolitan Police, officers were called to the O2 Academy Brixton at 9:35PM following reports of a “large number of people were attempting to force entry to the venue.”

The statement continues: “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.”

Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter Asake called off the show 10 minutes after appearing on stage The Guardian report. Videos of the evening have been circulating across social media.

Rebecca Ikumelo’s family have released the following statement: “Rebecca was a graduate of nursing. She was an adorable mother of two children who loved working with kids.

“She was well respected in the family for her care, kindness and love. Her parents call her Tosin (short for Oluwatosin) meaning ‘Lord is Worthy’.”

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.

He added: “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."

Wingrove has released another statement since the news of Hutchinson's death: “It is devastating news that a second person has lost their life following the events on Thursday. I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to Gabrielle’s family at this unimaginably difficult time.”

Asake has also released a follow-up statement on the news of Ikumelo’s death. Read it below.

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.

Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Video and Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter