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South African police are investigating the deaths of at least 21 young people whose bodies were found inside a East London city nightclub over the weekend, with no immediately apparent cause.
The incident has affected the country since emergency services were called to the Enyobeni Tavern in the early hours of Sunday morning. Desperate families were waiting for updates while forensic teams analyzed the scene.
National Police Minister Bheki Cele told a local news channel from the scene that a victim was 13 years old, and described the incident as a disaster. “When you look them in the face, you realize we’re dealing with kids,” Cele said.
Authorities initially considered whether a stampede could have been the cause of death, but “we can’t say for sure what happened at the moment,” Cele said Sunday as more tests were done on the bodies.
The South African Daily Dispatch reported on Sunday that bodies were found “strangely stretched out as if they had suddenly sunk to the ground while dancing or in the middle of a conversation”. The newspaper said its reporters had also seen bodies in chairs and lying on tables inside the premises “with no obvious signs of injury.”
The newspaper said it had chosen not to publish photographs taken at the scene.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his “deepest condolences” to those who had lost loved ones.
“This tragedy is made even more serious by its appearance during Youth Month, a time during which we celebrate youth, defend and advance opportunities to improve socioeconomic conditions for the youth of our nation,” Ramaphosa tweeted. .
The youths gathered at the popular venue to celebrate the end of the exams, according to the Associated Press, while locals said the venue was known for overcrowding and accused it of selling alcohol to underage attendees.
Promise Matinise, the entertainment manager of the Enyobeni tavern, told the BBC on Monday that he saw people falling one after the other after goalkeepers struggled to control the large crowd inside. Matinise said he contacted the owner of the establishment when he realized some of the victims were not breathing.
In South Africa, the minimum age for alcohol consumption is 18, although there have been calls to increase it to 21 in an attempt to combat crime as well as alcohol and substance abuse.
Siyanda Manana, a spokeswoman for the Eastern Cape provincial health department, told Reuters that the bodies of the victims would be taken to state funeral homes to identify them. “We will immediately embark on autopsies so we can know the probable cause of death,” he said.