Africa- JOHANNESBURG, At least 20 dead in South African club; cause not yet known, 26 June 2022

[dotr]

21 dead in South African nightclub; cause not yet known

South African police were investigating the deaths of at least 21 people at a nightclub in the coastal town of East London early Sunday and authorities said most of the victims were minors as young as 13 years old.

www.cp24.com

June 26, 2022 6:43AM EDT
''JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African police are investigating the deaths of at least 20 people at a nightclub in the coastal town of East London early Sunday morning.
It is unclear what led to the deaths of the young people, who were reportedly attending a party to celebrate the end of winter school exams.
Local newspaper Daily Dispatch reported that bodies were strewn across tables and chairs without any visible signs of injuries.

“At this point we cannot confirm the cause of death,” said health department spokesperson Siyanda Manana.
“We are going to conduct autopsies as soon as possible to establish the probable cause of death. The deceased have been taken to state mortuaries,” Manana added.
Police Minister Bheki Cele was on Sunday morning expected to visit the scene.
The owner of the club, Siyakhangela Ndevu, told local broadcaster eNCA that he had been called to the scene early Sunday morning.
“I am still uncertain about what really happened, but when I was called in the morning I was told the place was too full and that some people were trying to force their way into the tavern," he said.''

 

[dotr]

rbbm

Seventeen people found dead in South African nightclub

Police in southern city of East London launch investigation and officials rule out stampede

www.theguardian.com

“We got a report about 17 [people] that died in a local tavern in Scenery Park, which is based in East London,” said Thembinkosi Kinana, a police spokesperson. “We are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

He said the victims were aged between 18 and 20 years old.

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

''It’s difficult to believe it’s a stampede as there are no visible open wounds to those dead,” said Binqose.

A regional newspaper, DispatchLive, reported “bodies are lying strewn across tables, chairs and on the floor; with no obvious signs of injury”.

''Unverified pictures shared on social media showed bodies with no visible signs of injuries, lying on the floor of the club.''

He said he understood the patrons were students “celebrating pens down, a party held after writing [high school] exams”.

 

[musicaljoke]

Oh my, this is very tragic and very odd indeed. Could it have been Carbon monoxide poisoning? Another type of poisoning? Lethal drugs, fentanyl? Was there a murderer on the loose, spiking drinks?

We will wait for more information. I trust this will be solved.

 

[dotr]

Youngest South Africa tavern victim was 13 - minister

Most of the 21 who died in the sudden and unexplained incident were teenagers, the police minister says.

www.bbc.com

rbbm.
''The cause of death is unknown. Local media say bodies lay inside the Enyobeni Tavern as if they had collapsed, but there were no obvious injuries on the victims.
Post-mortem examinations are due to be carried out at mortuaries.
The premier of Eastern Cape province, where Sunday's tragedy happened, said police experts were on the way.
Premier Oscar Mabuyane did not give possible reasons for the deaths, but condemned the "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.''

''A provincial safety official told AFP news agency that a stampede had been ruled out as the cause of death as there were "no visible wounds".
"Forensic [investigators] will take samples and test to see if there was any poisoning of any sort," Unathi Binqose said.''


By John Eligon

21 Teenagers Found Dead in South African Tavern, Officials Say (Published 2022)

Initial reports suggested that there had been a stampede inside the club, in the coastal city of East London.

www.nytimes.com

“We really cannot understand what has happened here,” the premier, Oscar Mabuyane, told reporters. “It just can’t be. It should not happen like this.”

Brig. Tembinkosi Kinana, a police spokesman, said the police had received a call about 4 a.m. reporting deaths at the tavern.
Mr. Binqose said the tavern had hosted a large party on Saturday night, featuring two DJs who were celebrating their birthdays. The party was also billed as a celebration of South Africa dropping its mask mandate for public places, which had been in effect since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Binqose said.

“It attracted huge numbers — more than the tavern can accommodate,” he said of the party.

The tavern’s owners have told investigators that bouncers closed the doors to try to control the size of the crowd, Mr. Binqose said. People outside were said to have tried to push their way in, setting off a panic, which may have been exacerbated by someone releasing pepper spray, he said.

But Mr. Binqose added that those accounts had yet to be confirmed by the police. “There are a lot of stories flying around,” he said.''

 

[musicaljoke]

Surely there are witnesses who survived.

 

[dotr]

Some sensitive but blurred images warning.

''South African nightclub poisoning leaves at least 17 people dead in East London including 'underage' children. Bodies were scattered across tables and chairs' after a potential 'poison' exposure.''

 

[dotr]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/south-africa-mass-deaths-1.6502625

rbbm.
''South African authorities investigating 21 teenagers found dead at an east coast tavern over the weekend said on Monday the youths were probably killed by something they ate, drank or smoked, ruling out the earlier-touted possibility of a stampede.

The still-unexplained deaths of the teens, some of whom were celebrating the end of school exams and others a birthday party, have brought an outpouring of grief and shocked a nation.

"It is either something they ingested, which will point to poisoning, whether it's food or drinks, or it is something they inhaled," Unathi Binqose, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape's provincial community safety department, said by telephone on Monday. He said hookah pipes were visible in CCTV footage of the scene.

"We are ruling out a stampede completely," he also said, after initial media reports suggested this might be a possible cause of the deaths. Police said 21 had died, one fewer than originally thought.

Victims as young as 13​

Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana told Reuters that the youngest of the victims was a 13-year-old girl.

Addressing a crowd outside a mortuary in East London on Sunday, an emotional Police Minister Bheki Cele had to pause speaking as he started weeping, triggering a chorus of cries among his audience.''

 

[musicaljoke]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/27/south-africa-nightclub-deaths-east-london/

[...] in the early morning, Matafeni said she saw something lobbed through the door and into the crowd. People around her began to scream. “I can’t breathe,” she heard them yell. “I’m choking.” She pushed toward the door, struggling for air. “People were falling around me,” she said. “They were dying right in front of my eyes.”
...
Although the cause of the deaths remains under investigation, a spokesperson for the provincial community safety department said the working theory is that it was something the teenagers ingested or inhaled, rather than the stampede that was initially suspected. Like Matafeni, other witnesses described being choked by a substance that tasted like tear gas or pepper spray.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Sincere condolences to the families of these victims.

 

[dotr]

Paying close attention to what could be a (Canary in the goldmine) situation, imo

rbbm.

They danced and died: Tragic teen party mystery in S. Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African authorities were seeking answers Monday, a day after 21 underage teenagers partying after the end of school exams died in a mysterious incident at a nightclub.

apnews.com

“They died as they danced,” Police Minister Bheki Cele said. “They dance, fall, and die. Literally.”

“Others would just feel dizzy, sleep on the sofa, (and) die. It tells you the story that they were all kids because somebody should have taken note.”

Speculation has swirled over the cause of the tragedy, starting with a stampede — that has now been ruled out — to a possible gas leak. Police have sent forensic samples from the victims to a toxicology laboratory to investigate if the teens ingested poison or a toxin at the party.''

''Provincial safety official Unathi Binqose told the Daily Maverick newspaper that the victims may have ingested a toxic substance through alcohol they were drinking or through hookah pipes, which were being smoked at the party.''

''Parents were asked to come to a mortuary to identify their children. The Eastern Cape health department said there were survivors being treated in the hospital for backache, tight chests, vomiting and headaches.''

“The sight of those bodies sleeping there ... when you look at their faces you realize that you’re dealing with kids, kids, kids,” Cele said. “You’ve heard the story that they are young but when you see them you realize that it’s a disaster. ''

 

[dotr]

Gas leak may have killed 21 youths in South Africa tavern

Youngsters found dead in a South African tavern may have died by poisoning from a gas leak, a source close to the probe said.

canoe.com

''He said testing was underway to determine whether the deaths were from carbon monoxide poisoning, possibly from burning propane gas or another petroleum product inside the pub.

There was a strange chemical smell coming off the bodies when they were dissected, said the source, but it was not clear which chemical it was. Police were examining all appliances in the venue, he added.

The Eastern Cape health department was quoted in local media on Tuesday saying some of the victims admitted to hospital complained of symptoms such as chest pains and back ache.''

 

[dotr]

It Could Take Weeks To Learn What Killed 21 Teens in Nightclub, Families Told

Multiple theories have been put forward to explain the mystery deaths of the teens whose bodies were found in a bar in South Africa. Experts believe they likely died due to chemical asphyxiation.

www.vice.com

June 30 2022 rbbm.
''The police are waiting for results of toxicology reports to see whether the students were poisoned.
Dr Solomon Zondi, the government pathology expert responsible for carrying out the autopsies, believes the most likely cause of the deaths is a gas blast that led to chemical asphyxiation.
Dr Zondi has also viewed security footage from that night that appears to show people saying they were struggling to breathe.
“The children died of poisoning,” Dr Zondi told local media. “The question is whether it was inhaled or ingested.”
Authorities are also investigating whether the use of an indoor petrol generator may have caused carbon monoxide to be released into the packed venue. Witnesses claim that power had gone off that evening but it’s not clear whether the generator was ever turned on.
One eyewitness says she heard people screaming “I can’t breathe” as attendees scrambled to leave the club. “People were falling around me,” Kamvelihle Matafeni, 18, told the Washington Post. “They were dying right in front of my eyes.”

 

[meanmaryjean]

I don't really think CO is the cause. CO symptoms are sleepiness, fatigue, nausea - mimicking flu-like symptoms which is why so many people brush the early warning signs off. This was victims complaining "I can't breathe" which would not be typical of CO. I'm anxiously awaiting to hear the coroner's findings of this unspeakable tragedy.

 

[dotr]

JULY 6, 2022 rbbm.

Funeral held for 21 teenagers who mysteriously died at nightclub in South Africa: "We do not know yet exactly what killed our children"

Mournful hymns were sung by a large choir as 19 coffins were carried into a large tent where the service is being held.

www.cbsnews.com

''We do not know yet exactly what killed our children. But we do know that the law was broken that night, and probably many nights before then," Ramaphosa said to more than a thousand mourners at the funeral in East London for the young people who died at a tavern nearly two weeks ago.''

''Sinovuyo Monyane, 19, who was hired by the bar to promote an alcohol brand, said last week she was still "confused" but felt lucky to be alive.

She said she struggled to escape through a door gridlocked with people.

"We tried moving through the crowd, shouting 'please let us through,' and others were shouting 'we are dying, guys,' and 'we are suffocating' and 'there are people who can't breathe'," she told AFP.

"I passed out at that moment. I was running out of breath and there was a strong smell of some type of spray on in the air. We thought it was pepper spray," she said.

She later regained consciousness after someone sprayed water on her.''

 

[dotr]

Unrelated afaik, noting because it is so soon after this mysterious club tragedy..

'THERE WAS BLOOD EVERYWHERE': Gunmen kill 19 people in 'random' bar shootings in South Africa

Gunmen killed 19 people in two apparently random shootings within hours of each other at taverns in South Africa, police said on Sunday.

torontosun.com

Jul 10, 2022
''JOHANNESBURG — Gunmen killed 19 people in two apparently random shootings within hours of each other at taverns in South Africa, police said on Sunday, reinforcing the country’s bleak status as a global centre for murder.
''Attackers armed with rifles and pistols opened fire in the Orlando East bar in the township of Soweto in the early hours of Sunday, killing 15 people and wounding nine, police said.''

 

[dotr]

Methanol in blood of teens who died in South African tavern

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The toxic chemical methanol has been identified as a possible cause of the deaths of 21 teenagers at a bar in the South African city of East London last month.

www.thestar.com

July 19 2022 rbbm.
''JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The toxic chemical methanol has been identified as a possible cause of the deaths of 21 teenagers at a bar in the South African city of East London last month.

Methanol was found in all of their bodies and investigations are continuing to determine whether the levels of the toxic chemical were enough to have killed them.

“Methanol has been detected in all the 21 individuals that were there, however there is still progressive analysis of the quantitative levels of methanol and whether it could have been the final cause of death,” Dr. Litha Matiwane, Eastern Cape provincial deputy director for clinical service, said at press conference in East London Tuesday.

Authorities are still awaiting the conclusive results which are being conducted at a laboratory in the city of Cape Town, he said.

Methanol is a toxic form of alcohol that is used industrially as a solvent, pesticide or an alternative source of fuel. It is not used in the production of alcohol sold for human consumption.
It is yet not known how the youngsters ingested the methanol.''

 

[musicaljoke]

Methanol in blood of teens who died in South African tavern

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The toxic chemical methanol has been identified as a possible cause of the deaths of 21 teenagers at a bar in the South African city of East London last month.

www.thestar.com

July 19 2022 rbbm.
''JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The toxic chemical methanol has been identified as a possible cause of the deaths of 21 teenagers at a bar in the South African city of East London last month.

Methanol was found in all of their bodies and investigations are continuing to determine whether the levels of the toxic chemical were enough to have killed them.

“Methanol has been detected in all the 21 individuals that were there, however there is still progressive analysis of the quantitative levels of methanol and whether it could have been the final cause of death,” Dr. Litha Matiwane, Eastern Cape provincial deputy director for clinical service, said at press conference in East London Tuesday.

Authorities are still awaiting the conclusive results which are being conducted at a laboratory in the city of Cape Town, he said.

Methanol is a toxic form of alcohol that is used industrially as a solvent, pesticide or an alternative source of fuel. It is not used in the production of alcohol sold for human consumption.
It is yet not known how the youngsters ingested the methanol.''

You wouldn't expect everyone to die at once if it was an ingested toxin. But it may have been released into the air as a liquid spray. Even so, I'm not sure that feeling as though one is unable to breath is an initial symptom. In fact, there are few initial symptoms. I hope they keep looking for something in addition to methanol. Could there have been so much methanol in the air that the oxygen was displaced?

Methanol: Systemic Agent | NIOSH | CDC

Methanol is a toxic alcohol that is used industrially as a solvent, pesticide, and alternative fuel source. It also occurs naturally in humans, animals, and plants.

www.cdc.gov

 

[dotr]

Methanol Exposure Control Plans | Chemscape Safety Technologies

Chemscape Safety Technologies develops custom methanol exposure control plans (ECPs) for Canadian industrial and manufacturing businesses.

www.chemscape.com

rbbm.
''Methanol is highly flammable; it mixes well with air and can be explosive. Methanol is particularly dangerous in the presence of strong oxidizing agents such as bromine, chlorine, hydrogen peroxide and sodium hypochlorite. It’s also heavier than air, so methanol can accumulate in low areas and can travel a considerable distance from its source.''

''Methanol is commonly used in the production of other chemicals and as a solvent. Chemicals that require methanol as a precursor include gasoline, acetic acid, formaldehyde, and methyl methacrylate. Products that contain methanol as a solvent include antifreeze refrigeration systems, laboratory equipment, refrigerators and systems, and oilfield chemicals such as corrosion inhibitors and demulsifies. The oil and gas industry use methanol in many applications to prevent hydrates from forming in petroleum products at low temperatures.

Methanol is also used in a variety of products such as:

• Artificial Sweeteners
• Inks & Dyes
• Paint Thinner
• Plastics
• Shellac
• Windshield Washer Fluid''

''Exposure to methanol in the workplace typically occurs by breathing methanol vapour, although ingestion is the most common exposure route overall. Methanol’s toxicity is due to two distinct mechanisms, including depression of the central nervous system (CNS) and the metabolism of methanol into formic acid.''

''CNS depression causes the initial symptoms, which include confusion, dizziness, nausea and loss of coordination. Symptoms caused by the metabolism of methanol arise at least 10 hours after exposure and include acidosis, blurred vision and intracranial hemorrhages. Other signs of methanol poisoning include rapid breathing and dilated pupils.''

 

[dotr]

What you need to know about methanol found in Enyobeni victims' blood

A preliminary toxicology report states methanol - sometimes used in home-brewed liquor - was found in the blood of the teen tavern victims.

www.thesouthafrican.com

''Although this is the case, Dr Litha Matiwane from the Eastern Cape provincial department of health, highlighted that the results are inconclusive and methanol has not yet been ruled as the cause of death.''

“Tests conducted by a Cape Town lab found alcohol and carbon monoxide in the victims’ blood but not at deadly levels. The lab also found methanol in the blood of all the victims, and further testing is underway to determine the levels.

“What we found was for blood alcohol levels, levels ranged from 0.05 grams to 0.26 grams per 100 millilitres, which itself is not conclusive for lethal toxicology.

“As for carbon monoxide, levels of the saturation of haemoglobin in the blood ranged from 3.3 to 21%, well below the lethal marker of 50%,” Matiwane explained.

''ALCOHOL AND FOOD WAS FREE’: ENYOBENI SURVIVOR​

In the wake of the Enyobeni tragedy that took place at Scenery Park in East London on 26 June, a 17-year-old survivor whose two friends died in her arms, opened up about the tavern nightmare.

During an interview with Tru FM, the survivor — who opted to remain anonymous — said she saw the “birthday party” post trending on social media and decided to attend with two of her friends. The teenager also confirmed that most of the people who were at the party, were underage and that they were being served free alcohol and food.''

 

[SeesSeas]

A toxic chemical was found in the bodies of 21 teens who died in a South Africa tavern

Methanol was found in all of their bodies and investigations are continuing to determine whether the levels of the toxic chemical were enough to have killed them last month.

www.npr.org

Authorities are still awaiting the conclusive results which are being conducted at a laboratory in the city of Cape Town, he said.

Methanol is a toxic form of alcohol that is used industrially as a solvent, pesticide or an alternative source of fuel. It is not used in the production of alcohol sold for human consumption.

It is yet not known how the youngsters ingested the methanol.

Czech mass methanol outbreak 2012: epidemiology, challenges and clinical features - PubMed

Severity of metabolic acidosis, state of consciousness, and serum ethanol on admission were the only significant parameters associated with mortality. The type of dialysis or antidote did not appear to affect mortality. Recommendations that were issued for hospital triage of fomepizole...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Czech mass methanol outbreak 2012: epidemiology, challenges and clinical features
[...]
Results: From a total of 121 intoxicated subjects, 20 died outside the hospital and 101 were hospitalized. Among them, 60 survived without, and 20 with visual/CNS sequelae, whereas 21 patients died. The total and hospital mortality rates were 34% and 21%, respectively.
[...]

Methanol poisoning as a new world challenge: A review - PubMed

Since MP is associated with high morbidity and mortality, it should be considered seriously and instantly managed. Delay in treatment may cause complications, permanent damage, and even death.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Methanol poisoning as a new world challenge: A review
[...]
Discussion: Methanol is usually rapidly absorbed after ingestion and metabolized by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), then distributed to the body water to reach a volume distribution approximately equal to 0.77 L/kg. It is also eliminated from the body as unchanged parent compounds. Clinical manifestations of MP alone initiate within 0.5-4 h after ingestion and include gastrointestinal symptoms and CNS suppression. After a latent period of 6-24 h, depending on the absorbed dose, decompensated metabolic acidosis occurs with blurred vision and early or late blindness. Blurred vision with normal consciousness is a strong suspicious sign of an MP. The mortality and severity of intoxication are well associated with the severity of CNS depression, hyperglycemia, and metabolic acidosis, but not with serum methanol concentration.
[...]