Families of victims who died in Brixton Academy crush say they will ‘never stop’ in search for justice
The young sons of a woman who died in a crowd crush at the O2 Academy in Brixton are starting to ask: “Where is my mum?”
Rebecca Ikumelo’s boys, aged five and seven, are beginning to realise their mother isn’t coming home, her family members have said.
Ms Ikumelo, 33, of Newham, east London, and security worker Gaby Hutchinson, 23, of Gravesend, Kent, who was on duty at the south London venue, both died days after being hurt when ticketless fans tried to get into a show by Nigerian Afrobeats artist Asake in December.
A 21-year-old woman is still seriously ill in hospital.
Their grieving families are searching for answers as to how the crush happened and have now appealed to the public to help with a police criminal investigation into the deadly incident.
‘They are really feeling their mum’s absence’
Ms Ikumelo’s father, Anthony, said the family wanted to see a basic sense of “compassion” and “respect” from everyone involved to aid the investigation into what went wrong on 15 December.
Organising more concerts and events instead – while there are still safety concerns – would be a “further slap” to the relatives, he added.
Anthony Ikumelo, 63, father, and Wale Ikumelo, 31, brother, of Rebecca Ikumelo, 33
Mr Ikumelo added one of the reasons his daughter died was “greed” and lamented the lack of safety measures on the day.
He said: “It feels like greed is one of the reasons why my daughter died and why all the things that should have been in place for safety were not there.
“This is why everyone should be working with us, from the government down, to find out what happened and to prevent it from happening again.
“We want those responsible prosecuted and eventually we want the government to make sure this will not happen to another family again.”
Rebecca Ikumelo of Newham. Pic: Met Police
Yetunde Olodo said Ms Ikumelo’s young sons – her grandsons – are missing their mum.
She explained: “They don’t understand what is happening but I am sure they are really feeling their mum’s absence.”
Questions over safety and security need to be answered, according to Ms Ikumelo’s aunt Mary, who said it was “a stampede and it is not the first time this has happened in the UK”.
She said extra safety measures should be put in place at future events.
She added: “We are very angry and upset.
“The people who think that maybe they are going to get away with this – they need to be scared because we will never stop as a family until justice prevails.”
Sale of ‘dodgy’ tickets contributed to tragedy
The other victim of the crush was 23-year-old security worker Gaby Hutchinson and her family also have many unanswered questions.
“Why was she inside? Why was there so many people? Why were there so many people turning up? The venue was full and you have got people outside wanting to get in,” said her mother Chris.
Her daughter was “trained to walk around the [venue’s] perimeter and that was it,” she added.
Gaby Hutchinson died whilst working at the event
While Ms Hutchinson’s sister Nina said: “She did not die because of an accident like a car accident. She died at work and that should not have happened.”
She added: “I hope that for the people who were selling supposedly dodgy tickets that was worth it to them because ultimately it is [part of] what led to my sister’s death.
“There would not have been that excess of people there who did not have tickets, if you did not do that.”
The family feel “fear” of concerts and similar events ever since Ms Hutchinson’s death, her sister added, and they now tried to avoid crowds.
Chris Hutchinson, 60, mother, and Nina Hutchinson, 32, sister, of Gaby Hutchinson, 23, who died following a crowd crush outside an Asake concert at the Brixton O2 Academy in London
Police investigation update
Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Penney said the criminal investigation was under way and potential offences being looked into included “corporate manslaughter, criminal negligence manslaughter… health and safety at work offences, along with violent disorder”.
Mr Penney said the police “are looking at every avenue to establish exactly what went wrong” and “have persons of interest” they are probing.
He appealed to the “hundreds of people” at the event capturing the scenes on their phones saying, “however insignificant it is, we want people to come forward with whatever they have”.
Entertainment
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
Read more from Sky News:
Snoop Dogg becomes a co-owner of Swansea FC
American Idol TV executive and husband shot dead
One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
Read more from Sky News:
Ticketless Oasis fans blocked from gig
American Idol executive shot dead
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike