Key Points
- Details have emerged from survivors from an incident which left 21 South African teenagers mysteriously dead in a nightclub.
- Police say they believe the partygoers inhaled or ingested something that led to their deaths.
South African police said the investigation continues into the death of 21 teenagers, with authorities now believing the likely cause of death is something the partygoers inhaled or "ingested through drinks and food".
Survivors described the frantic rush to escape the jam-packed shebeens - venues that are an alternative to pubs and bars. One survivor reported a suffocating smell.
Most of the victims, some as young as 13, were found dead inside a popular bar in the southern coastal city of East London.
Seventeen died inside the bar, while four died later in hospital. The victims included 13 boys and eight girls.
Thirty-one others were hospitalised with symptoms including backache, tight chests, vomiting and headache, officials said. Most were discharged on Sunday, leaving two in hospital, they said.
Accidental poisoning suspected
The fatalities bore no visible signs of injury, sparking initial speculation among local officials and politicians that this was a case of underage drinking that had gone tragically wrong.
So far no arrests have been made so far.
Autopsies are being conducted to see if the deaths could be linked to poisoning. Forensic analysis will be conducted this week.
"It is either something they ingested which will point to poisoning, whether its food or drinks, or it is something they inhaled," Unathi Binqose, spokesperson for Eastern Cape’s provincial community safety department said by phone on Monday, ahead of a toxicology report still being awaited.
Mourners attend a service at the Assembly of God Church in Scenery Park in East London, South Africa. Source: AAP / AP
"We are ruling out a stampede," he added, after initial media reports suggested this may have been the cause.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday he was worried about the circumstances under which young people, at least some under the age of 18 years, were allowed to gather at the tavern.
It is illegal to serve drinks to under-18s in South Africa.
Other politicians also expressed their shock at the deaths.
"It has never happened that our country loses children in this manner," Elleck Nchabeleng, who chairs the parliamentary committee on education and technology, sports, arts and culture, said.
"This unfortunate and unprecedented incident underscores the importance of vigilance from parents."
Survivors describe feeling of suffocation
Survivors on Monday spoke of a strong and suffocating smell in the jam-packed double-storey building.
Sinovuyo Monyane, 19, who was hired by the bar to promote an alcohol brand, said she was still "confused" but felt lucky to be alive. She said she struggled to escape through a door gridlocked with people.
"We tried moving through the crowd, shouting 'please let us through,' and others were shouting 'we are dying, guys,' and 'we are suffocating' and 'there are people who can't breathe'," she told AFP.
"I passed out at that moment. I was running out of breath and there was a strong smell of some type of spray on in the air. We thought it was pepper spray," she said.
Police are still investigating what led to the deaths of the young people, who were reportedly attending a party to celebrate the end of winter school exams. Source: AAP / AP
"I got up and realised that there were bodies lying around. I saw people being poured water, but those people did not even move," she said in a phone interview.
"I could have died."
A member of staff at the bar, Sifiso Promise Matinise, told AFP he sprinkled water on the unconscious people to revive them, thinking they were drunk, before realising what had happened.
"I saw two people collapse, they died," he said.
Many of the victims are thought to have been students celebrating the end of their high-school exams, officials said.
"Samples were taken and were on (the) first flight today to Cape Town, where the tests will be conducted," said Mr Binqose.
'So heartbroken'
About 100 mourners attended an emotional prayer service at the Assemblies of God church in the Scenery Park township, where local municipal councillor Monica Goci broke down on the pulpit with a microphone in her hand.
"I'm so devastated. We are so angry," Maxhabiso Sibotoboto, 50, whose 17-year-old granddaughter, Monelo, was among the dead, told Reuters by phone from the church memorial service for them.
"People were complaining about the tavern. No one was happy about it. The community wanted the tavern to be shut," he said.
Families are mourning the death of 21 teenagers who died at nightclub in South Africa. Source: AP / AP
Pictures circulating on social media, still unverified by authorities, showed the bodies of youths lying scattered across the floor of the tavern, some also seen motionless on tables and couches.
"We are so heartbroken, guys. We lost one of our familymembers, a child who was doing grade 12 (final year) this year.
