The number of deaths from an incident in a South African bar has risen to 22. The victims are also said to be minors. This was reported by the authorities on Sunday.
It is not clear what exactly happened in the bar in the coastal town of East London. Earlier there was talk of oppression because panic would have arisen in the pub. But the bodies are said to have had few injuries, so poisoning cannot be ruled out. According to a spokesman for the Eastern Cape Provincial Health Department, the bodies are being taken to the morgue, where a toxicological examination is being conducted.
People gathered en masse outside the pub. Family members are asked to help identify the victims.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa offered condolences to the families of the victims and expressed concern about the conditions under which minors could gather in a pub.
A seventeen-year-old local resident told news agency Reuters that the pub was a popular hangout for young people. “Everyone wants it closed because they sell alcohol to minors. Everyone is angry, everyone is sad about what happened,” said the local resident.
“What happened is akin to a massacre,” East London Mayor Xola Pakati said in a statement.