At least 17 people have been reported dead at a nightclub in South Africa.
Emergency services were called early Sunday at Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, on the outskirts of East London, Eastern Cape province, according to the Daily Dispatch news site.
Eastern Cape police spokesman Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana told the country’s Newzroom Africa news channel that among the dead were young adults between the ages of 18 and 20.
He said: “The SAPS confirms that about 17 … were found dead inside a local hut in Scenery Park, in the east of London.
“We received this report in the early hours of Sunday. The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated as we speak.
“We don’t want to make any speculation at this stage. Our investigation continues.”
He later confirmed to Reuters that “the circumstances in which they died are under investigation,” adding that it was too early to determine the causes of death.
Daily Dispatch reporters, who said the death toll could reach 22, say it is speculated that those who died were exposed to some type of poison or died during a stampede.
The Zulu-language newspaper Isolezwe News says eyewitnesses have told them that “bodies were everywhere” with no signs of injuries.