South Africa police investigate deaths of 21 teens at pub
- At least 21 teenagers, the youngest possibly just 13, died at the weekend after a night out at a township tavern
- It was not clear what led to the deaths of the young people, who were celebrating the end of school exams
South African police were investigating the deaths of at least 21 people at a tavern in the coastal town of East London.
Although the cause of the deaths is still unclear, local officials and politicians said they feared this might have been a case of under-age drinking that went tragically wrong.
The provincial government of Eastern Cape said eight girls and 13 boys had died at the tavern, in a residential area called Scenery Park. Seventeen were found dead at the scene, while the rest died in hospital.
Empty bottles of alcohol, wigs and even a pastel purple “Happy Birthday” sash were found strewn on the dusty street outside the double-storey Enyobeni Tavern, said Unathi Binqose, a safety government official who arrived at the scene at dawn.
Many of the victims are thought to have been students celebrating the end of their high-school exams on Saturday night, officials said.
There were no visible wounds on the bodies, but autopsies would determine if the deaths could be linked to poisoning, they added.