Katharina Buczek
On June 27, authorities found twenty-one teenagers dead inside a South African tavern. The fatal discovery occurred in Scenery Park, East London, at 4:00 a.m. after police officers were notified of “lifeless bodies” at a local bar.
Seventeen teenagers were declared dead on the scene. And a South African Police Service (SAPS) press release provided updates on the other four teens.
“It was later established two more died at a local clinic, one died en route to the hospital, and another died in the hospital,” SAPS shared.
Nine of the teenagers were female, and twelve were male.
The cause of their death was not initially known, and Minister of Police General Bheki Cele and the SAPS National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola launched a widespread investigation immediately following the tragedy.
Since then, autopsies have been performed on all of the victims, and officials revealed this week that methanol was detected in each individual’s system.
Dr. Litha Matiwane, the Eastern Cape provincial deputy director for the clinical service, spoke at an East London press conference and shared how initial blood test results did reveal that every victim did have some level of a toxic chemical in their system.
Nonetheless, just how much methanol was inside each victim’s body is still unclear.
“There is still progressive analysis of the quantitative levels of methanol and whether it could have been the final cause of death,” Dr. Matiwane said.
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