According to reports from South Africa, more than 20 persons have been found dead in a Night Club. The victims were between the ages of 15 and 20 years.
The incident happened in a popular township pub in South Africa's southern city of East London.
Early church goers and residents of Scenery Park witnessed strong police presence and multiple ambulances in the early hours of today. The bodies were moved to the mortuary as many residents rushed around the bodies to identify their family members and loved ones.
At the time of filing this report, sources say the cause of death of the victims remains unknown, as there were no visible physical injuries to any of the bodies.
Thus, the provincial community and safety departments have ruled out the possibility of a stampede, as was earlier reported on social media by residents.
From the items recovered in the Night club, it is evident that there was a birthday celebration in the club, which attracted a fairly large crowd.
Reacting to the tragedy, Unathi Binqose, a safety government official who claimed to have been one of the first persons to arrive at the scene of said:
"Forensic (investigators) will take samples and test to see if there was any poisoning of any sort."
According to Binqose, the majority of the diseased were students "celebrating pens down, a party held after writing (high school) exams".
However, in what has attracted a lot of backlash from critics, the Premier of Eastern Cape province, Oscar Mabuyane, suggested that the deaths were a result of "unlimited consumption of liquor."
"You can't just trade in the middle of society like this and think that young people are not going to experiment," he added.
The police and other relevant authorities have begun an investigation into the cause of death of young adults. They said extensive post-mortem examinations would be carried out on the bodies as soon as they get to the mortuary.
At the time of filing this report, there has been no official comment from the owners of the Night Club, the Enyobeni Tavern.
We will provide more updates as they unfold.