17 found dead in South African nightclub

At least, 17 young people were found dead at a nightclub in a township in South Africa’s southern city of East London on Sunday, police said.

“We got a report of about 17 people that died in a local tavern in Scenery Park, which is based in East London,” a Provincial Police Spokesman, Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana, told reporters.

“We are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he added.

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

The Eastern Cape 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 the press by telephone.

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