Three people have been arrested after the mysterious deaths of 21 young people at the end of June in an informal bar in East London, south-eastern South Africa, police said on Wednesday. The owner of this clandestine but tolerated bar, aged 52, and two of his employees, aged 33 and 34, were detained for having served alcoholic beverages under illegal conditions, said a police statement without the identify.
The owner is expected to appear before a judge on August 19, for selling alcohol to minors. His two employees have already been fined 2,000 rand (120 euros) and will only go to court if they cannot pay it, police said.
A “stuffy smell”
The 21 young people, aged between 14 and 20, had died in mysterious circumstances in the Enyobeni bar in the township of Scenery Park, in East London. Most of the bodies had been found in the bar with no apparent injuries, some died in the following hours in hospital. Authorities had ruled out the possibility of a fatal stampede and, two weeks after the tragedy, autopsies and scans failed to determine the cause of death. Survivors had mentioned a “suffocating smell” and testimonies had suggested intoxication or poisoning.
“As we have said from the start, the investigation is ongoing and must be conducted with the utmost caution and wisdom if we are to reach the desired conclusions,” the provincial police chief said. Eastern Cape, Nomtheleli Mene.