Death Toll in South Africa's Tavern Incident Rises to 22

JOHANNESBURG (Sputnik) - Twenty-two young people were found dead in a tavern in East London, a city in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office confirmed on Sunday.

"President Cyril Ramaphosa expresses his condolences and concern over the deaths of 22 teenagers in a tavern in the Scenery Park in East London early this morning," the statement reads.

Earlier in the day, local media reported that between 17 and 22 people were killed, allegedly in a stampede or mass poisoning, and multiple others injured.

The SABC broadcaster said the victims were "children."

"We are waiting for the investigation to continue and that will guide us as to what type of a docket, what crime we will register as the police. We received the calls at about 4 a.m. [02:00 GMT], that is what I was told. What time the incident happened, we do not know. We are still interviewing people on the crime scene to check what time did it happen, what time was the place supposed to close, and all that. We are still processing that," provincial police commissioner Nomthetheleli Mene told SABC.