Enyobeni Tavern: Police report vs survivors

It will take longer for the parents of the 21 teens who died on June 26 at the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park to know what killed their kids.

Parents and other family members sobbed in frustration. This is when they learned that they would not yet be informed of what killed their children. They were informed that after the investigations were finished, each family would receive a pathology report.

Laboratory results showed the presence of carbon monoxide and the poisonous alcohol methanol. this had, however, not yet been determined to be the cause of death. Therefore so more testing would be required. This is according to police minister Bheki Cele and Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane.

Clinical Services Deputy Director-General, Eastern Cape Health Department To assess whether the amount of methanol consumed was hazardous, Dr. Litha Matiwane said they were awaiting blood test results.

The causes of the deaths have been theorised, and have included everything. From a stampede to tear gas poisoning and carbon monoxide asphyxiation brought on by generator fumes.

Police and health officials have kept quiet despite ruling out several possibilities after sending samples to a Cape Town laboratory for additional testing.

How do you get methanol poisoning?

Most cases of methanol poisoning are a result of drinking home-brewed alcohol. Methanol is either deliberately added to strengthen informally produced alcohol, or it is left in the brew because of poor distillation practices.

This has led many people to believe that Enyobeni Tavern owners brewed their alcohol. This is further emphasised by reports that the children were given free alcohol.

What Enyobeni Tavern survivors believe is the cause of death

The tavern was crowded. This is according to information that some survivors shared. There was some suffocation as a result of the overcrowding and poor ventilation. The security guards are said to have used pepper spray. This was a fatal choice made in an attempt to manage the crowd. As people scrambled to escape and save their lives, chaos broke.

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