The bodies of at least 17 people, most of them young men, have been found in a nightclub in the town of East London, local police in the South African town of East London said on Sunday.
“Seventeen young men were found dead in a night pub here in East London,” district police chief General Thembinkosi Kinana told E-NCA television. “The circumstances of their deaths are currently unknown,” according to AFP.
Police officials said South African authorities had opened an investigation into the “mysterious crime”.
Kinana said that passers-by alerted police to the incident, which occurred in Senri Park, about 3 kilometers from the city center.
“The circumstances in which they died are under investigation,” he told Reuters, adding that it was too early to determine the cause of death for the 18-20-year-olds.
A crowd had gathered outside the pub, the site of the mysterious crime, in the early hours of Sunday morning in a stampede inside.
The authorities also launched a forensic investigation to determine the exact cause of the tragedy.
Journalists at the scene reported that some residents were waiting because their children did not return to their homes on Saturday, noting that the parents did not know what happened and “do not understand it.”
Department of Roads and Safety spokesman Onathi Bengoz said more details would emerge during the day.
“We don’t know if they were poisoned or something else happened. The police are on site with forensic experts to piece together what led to this tragic accident,” he added.