At least four persons are fighting for their lives after sustaining critical injuries in a suspected crush at a concert in London's Brixton where a crowd reportedly attempted to force their way inside the venue.
A total of eight people were taken to hospital, with four still in critical condition Metropolitan Police said in a statement. Others injured were treated at the scene, police said.
Police officers, London Ambulance Service (LAS) and London Fire Brigade attended and found a number of people with injuries believed to have been caused by crushing, the police statement said.
According to the Metropolitan Police, the security officials were called around 9:35 pm on Thursday (local time) at the O2 Academy on Stockwell Road, SW9 following reports that a large number of people were attempting to force entry into Nigerian singer Asake's gig.
An urgent investigation is under way led by detectives from Specialist Crime. Cordons remain in place at the location as officers continue work at the scene. However, no arrest has been made till now, as per the statement.
Commander Ade Adelekan, Met Police Gold Commander, said, "This is an extremely upsetting incident which has left four people critically ill in hospital. My thoughts and prayers are with them and their families."
"A police investigation has been launched, and it will be as thorough and as forensic as necessary to establish exactly what happened last night. The scene will be examined by specialist officers, CCTV will be viewed, every witness that we can make contact with will be spoken to and all other lines of enquiry will be followed," he added.
Adelekan also stated that the officers are still in the area to provide reassurance to the local community in and around Brixton.
According to the police statement, after admitting that he is aware of the viral video of the incident, Adelekan further said that he would ask people to be sensible about what they share, and not post material that will be upsetting to those affected by this incident.
"Where force has been used by police officers, those officers know they have to be accountable for their actions. The Met's Directorate of Professional Standards will view all material, including Body Worn Video footage from the officers at the scene. In relation to a clip being widely shared, I can confirm that no police dogs were deployed to the location," the statement quoted him as saying.
( With inputs from ANI )
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