Tragedy hit South Africa at the weekend when no fewer than 22 people were found dead at a nightclub under mysterious circumstances in a township of the southern city of East London.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana on Sunday said police were alerted by members of the public to the incident at Scenery Park.
“The circumstances under which they died are under investigation,” Kinana said, adding it was too early to determine the cause of death of the young adults aged between 18 and 20 years.
The bodies will be transported to state mortuaries where relatives are expected to help identify the victims, said Siyanda Manana, a spokesperson for the Eastern Cape provincial health department, The Trumpet gathered.
“We are going to immediately be embarking on autopsies so we can know the probable cause of death,” he said. “We are talking 22 bodies right now.”
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his condolences to the families of the 22 people who died at a tavern in East London. Ramaphosa said the victims were teenagers.
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“While the President awaits more information on the incident, his thoughts are with the families who have lost children as well as families who are awaiting confirmation of how their children may have been affected,” a statement from the presidency said. Many people gathered at the scene trying to find loved ones.
National police minister Bheki Cel traveled to the scene in Scenery Park, where he told a large crowd: “The call is on the parents to see that their kids are kept well, the call is on the community to say we can’t allow our kids to die.”
