Authorities in South Africa are looking into the death at a nightclub of 22 adolescents celebrating their final exams.
According to accounts, the teenagers’ bodies were discovered in the Enyobeni Tavern in East London, a town in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, with no obvious evidence of damage or wounds.
The bodies of the teenagers were found at the tavern in the Scenery Park neighbourhood early on Sunday, according to a tweet from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The families of the 22 adolescents who died have my sincere sympathies, Ramaphosa wrote. “The fact that this tragedy took place during Youth Month, when we honour youth, makes it all the more tragic.”
Police claimed they found the majority of the victims, who were between the ages of 13 and 17, sprawled on the club floor, lying on tables, and slumped over chairs. Col. Athlenda Mathe, a police spokesperson, said that the reason of their deaths was still being looked into on Monday.
Police were looking into whether the victims had consumed a poison or toxin when Police Minister Bheki Cele stated that forensic samples gathered from the victims were being transferred to a toxicology facility in Cape Town.
Toxicology test results are pending, Cele said.
My deepest condolences go to the families of the 22 teenagers who lost their lives at a tavern in Scenery Park, East London, in the early hours of this morning.
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) June 26, 2022
Unathi Binqose, a provincial safety official, told the Daily Maverick newspaper that it’s possible that the victims consumed a hazardous substance while drinking beer or while smoking hookah at the party.
According to the authorities, the individuals showed no outward evidence of having been injured.
According to police, they were called to the nightclub at around 4 a.m. following a report of “lifeless bodies” there.
When police arrived on the scene, the majority of the kids were already dead. Three more people passed away: two in a nearby clinic, one en route to the hospital, and one there.
