The South African health services informed on Thursday the families of the 21 young people who died in mysterious conditions at the end of June in an informal bar that they attributed the cause of their death to “asphyxiation”.
“They summoned the 21 families to tell us what had happened. Now they tell us it’s suffocation,” said the father of one of the victims, Xolani Malangeni, linked to the AFP telephone.
“Before they told us it was poisoning,” he adds angrily. “It’s false, it’s a false report.”
Victims between 14 and 20 years old
His daughter, Esinako Sanarhana, 17, died on the night of June 25-26 at a popular drinking establishment in a poor East London suburb. In total, 21 young people, between 14 and 20 years old, were murdered in the Enyobeni bar, in the town of Parque Paisaje.
Contacted by our AFP colleagues, the Eastern Cape Province Health Department confirmed receiving families to inform them of the circumstances of their son’s death. But the department did not confirm the cause of death given, citing a duty of “confidentiality.”
Most of the bodies were found on June 26 in the bar, with no apparent injuries. The authorities had ruled out the hypothesis of a tragedy caused by a massive movement. Autopsies were performed.
Survivors mentioned “a strong smell”, people collapsing on the ground.
Thirty hospitalizations
A total of 31 people were taken to hospital, complaining of vomiting, headaches, or back and chest pain. Other families have also told local media that they were told their son had died of suffocation. None of them received a toxicology report.
“They told us that if we wanted it, we had to go to court to ask for it,” Xolani Malangeni plagued.
The results of the first toxicological analyzes in July were inconclusive. Alcohol and carbon monoxide levels found in the blood were well below lethal thresholds. Traces of methanol were also found in blood tests, leaving the whole mystery behind.
Most of the victims were students celebrating their exam results. The owner of the bar was arrested for selling alcohol to minors. In South Africa, the consumption of alcohol is prohibited for those under 18 years of age.
Source: BFM TV
