The still-unexplained deaths of the teenagers, some celebrating the end of their school exams and others celebrating a birthday, caused a flood of grief and shocked a nation accustomed to the wounds of binge drinking culture.
“It’s either something they ingested that will indicate poisoning, whether food or drink, or something they inhaled,” Unathi Binqose said by phone on Monday. , spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Provincial Community Safety Department. He added that hookah pipes were visible in CCTV footage of the scene.
“We completely rule out a stampede,” he added, after initial media reports suggested it could be a possible cause of the deaths. Police said 21 people had died, one less than expected.
Eastern Cape police spokesman Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana told Reuters the youngest victim was a 13-year-old girl.
Addressing a crowd outside an East London morgue on Sunday, a moved police minister, Bheki Cele, had to cut short his speech when he burst into tears, setting off a chorus of screams from his audience.
Photos circulating on social media since Sunday, still unverified by authorities, show the bodies of the youths strewn across the tavern floor, with some also seen motionless on tables and sofas.
Authorities should produce a toxicology report as part of the investigation.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday he was concerned about the circumstances in which young people, some under the age of 18, were allowed to congregate at the tavern. It is illegal to serve drinks to people under 18 in South Africa.
The tavern in question had its liquor license revoked on Monday, said Mgwebi Msiya, spokesman for the Eastern Cape Liquor Board.
“We are on our way to the tavern now to serve them this suspension letter. We want them to cease their activity immediately,” he said.