Almost 12 months to the day since two students were killed in a crush in a Northampton nightclub, police have released CCTV footage from the night and appealed for revellers to come forward to help them.
Nabila Nanfuka and Laurene-Danielle Jackson died as a result of the tragedy at Lava & Ignite on October 19 last year.
Both girls had attended the Wickedest Wickedest club night at the St Peter’s Way venue, along with 1,500 students from across the country.
An inquest heard that 22-year-old University of Northampton leisure and tourism student Nabila, from Neasden, north-west London, died from traumatic crush asphyxia, similar injuries to those suffered by victims of the Hilsborough stadium disaster.
Witnesses have reported that a panic started among revellers after an announcement that coaches were about to leave and that a fire alarm was sounding around the time of the accident.
Laurene-Danielle, aged 19, who was from Wembley, London, passed away at Glenfield hospital in Leicester almost three weeks after the crush.
A third student, a 21-year-old from London, also had critical crush injuries but was released from Northampton General Hospital on October 25.
A hard-hitting poster, using a photo from inside the club as the crush was taking place on a staircase, is now being circulated to universities across the country.
Officers have spoken to over 1,000 people as part of the investigation, including those who attended the event, emergency services staff and staff at the club, but are still working to identify 28 key witnesses in the poster. Officers would also like to speak to anyone who was there on the evening who has not yet come forward.
Detective Inspector Louise Hemingway said: “We have spoken to over 1,000 witnesses and reviewed several hours of CCTV footage. In doing so, it has become apparent that, whilst we have a clear picture of what happened, there are a small number of key witnesses that we have yet to speak to who were in the immediate vicinity of where the two young women were crushed.
“We need the help of the people in the CCTV and the poster to piece together what happened. No-one is in trouble – we don’t suspect anyone in these images of a crime – we just need their help as key witnesses to what happened during the tragedy so that we can bring our investigation to a conclusion.
“Many of the people attending Wickedest Wickedest were extremely brave and courageous during the incident, showing huge compassion and support for the people who were injured and helping them to safety.
“We are coming up to a year on from the tragic event and are hoping this appeal may jog people’s memories and they may feel that they are now able to speak to us.
“Please contact us if you’re in the poster or CCTV clip or recognise anyone – a photo or video can tell us many things but only the people who were there on the night can tell us first hand.”
Angela Ferdinand and Ronato Jackson, the parents of Laurene-Danielle Jackson, have released a statement appealing directly to those who attended the event.
They said: “We would like to make an appeal to any one of the 28 people who have not yet come forward who attended the Lava & Ignite nightclub in Northampton that night.
“As parents of Laurene-Danielle who lost her life we can appreciate how upsetting it must be to re-live the tragedy of that night, but we are urging you to please come forward with any information, no matter how small it may be, so that we can try to understand what happened and why we lost our beautiful daughter.
“If it were you we are sure you would want all the information needed to get some kind of closure. Please imagine if it was you who had lost a daughter, sister, cousin or niece.
“Laurene-Danielle was only 19 and still had a lot to give in her life and we just need to know what happened. There are still a lot of blank pieces that the police need in order to continue their investigation. We do not want Laurene-Danielle’s death to go unanswered.”
Lava & Ignite’s owners, Luminar Leisure, went into administration soon after the incident and the club never reopened. It is now being used as the home of a 24 hour budget gym.
Northamptonshire Police has referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission over the incident but details of the watchdog’s findings have yet to be released.
The investigation remains ongoing and the officers are working alongside health and safety investigators from Northampton Borough Council.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Northamptonshire Police through any of the following routes:
Phone: 01604 888006
Text: 07557 775005
Email: northampton-nightclub@northants.police.uk
Post: Operation Seahorse, Wootton Hall, Northampton, NN4 0JQ.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ClubTragedy
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ClubTragedy
Web: www.northants.police.uk/ClubTragedy
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