Youngest victim of mysterious South Africa pub tragedy was 13 years old

Police in South Africa continues to try and make sense of the mysterious tragedy that claimed the lives of 21 teenagers in the southern city of East London. As per an AFP report, survivors have described the incident as a battle to escape jam-packed tavern premises, after a suffocating smell was detected. Of the 21 victims, 17 perished inside the bar while four died in the hospital. Another 31 as per officials had to be hospitalised with symptoms including vomiting, headache, backache and tightness in the chest. At first, it was assumed to be a tragic example of underage drinking gone wrong, but on Monday, more information came to light as survivors described a suffocating 'pepper spray' like the smell inside the crammed double-story structure.

Watch |21 die in South African township club, reasons unclear

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Sinovuyo Monyane, 19, who worked for the bar to promote an alcohol brand, admitted that she was still "confused" but felt fortunate to be alive.

"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 told AFP.

Later on, someone splashed water on her, bringing her back to consciousness.

In South Africa, the drinking age is 18, but safety restrictions and drinking-age requirements are not always enforced by township bars, which are frequently situated next to family homes.

To determine whether the fatalities could be related to poisoning, autopsies are being performed. A forensic analysis will be conducted this week.

Unathi Binqose, a government official in charge of safety, said that samples had been obtained and were on the first aircraft out today to Cape Town, where the tests will be carried out.

(With inputs from agencies)

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