Twenty people die in South African pub, cause unclear

At least 20 young people have died at a makeshift nightclub in a township in South Africa's southern city of East London, but the cause of the deaths is still unclear.

Senior officials from the provincial government rushed to the scene, where at least six mortuary vehicles were lined up the residential street waiting to collect the bodies, an AFP correspondent reported.

Drinking is permitted in South African township pubs, commonly known as sheebens or taverns which are sometimes even located in family homes, where safety regulations are rarely enforced.

"The number has increased to 20, three have died in hospital. But there are still two who are very critical," the head of the provincial government safety department Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe said on local TV.

A visibly shocked head of the Eastern Cape Province Oscar Mabuyane, spoke from outside the scene, a building surrounded by houses in an area called Scenery Park.

"It's absolutely unbelievable, we can't understand it, losing 20 young lives just like that," he said, condemning "this unfortunate consumption, unlimited consumption of liquor".

"You cant just trade in the middle of society like this and think that young people are not going to experiment," he said.

Provincial police spokesman brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana told AFP that police were investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

He said the victims at Enyobeni Tavern were aged between 18 and 20 years.

The provincial community and safety department official Unathi Binqose, speaking from the scene, ruled out a stampede as the cause of death.

"It's difficult to believe it's a stampede as there are no visible open wounds to those dead," Binqose told AFP by telephone.

A local newspaper website, DispatchLive, reported that "bodies are lying strewn across tables, chairs and on the floor; with no obvious signs of injury".

Unverified pictures shared on social media also showed bodies with no visible signs of wounds.

Local television showed police officers trying to calm down a crowd of parents and onlookers gathered outside the club in the city, which lies on the Indian Ocean coast, nearly 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) south of Johannesburg.

"Parents whose children did not sleep at home are gathered here and they want to enter the tavern to look for their loved ones," said Binqose.

He said he understood the patrons were students "celebrating pens down, a party held after writing (high school) exams".