JUST IN | Generator fumes 'highly unlikely' as cause of death at Enyobeni Tavern

The results of the autopsy to determine the cause of deaths of 21 young people who died at Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park are likely to be made public before the mass funeral on Wednesday next week. 

A senior official in the Eastern Cape department of health’s forensic pathology services said: “It is highly unlikely that the cause of death was through fumes from a generator. But we are still waiting for toxicology results.”

Another senior official told Daily Dispatch that media reports identifying generator fumes as behind the deaths were "completely untrue and without basis".

eNCA reported on Wednesday morning that the cause of death was likely through a chemical poisoning and that the generator had been ruled out as behind the tragedy.

Provincial community safety spokesperson, Unathi Binqose, said: “The postmortem has not been concluded as yet. We will give a public account the moment the results come out. We have to tell the public and put it into confidence about what really led to the deaths of these 21 young lives.

“This will not be kept a secret. Families will be told of what happened as soon as we have all the results of samples taken from the bodies. Our plea is for the media and the public to give those experts some space to do their work.”

Provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana, said the investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

“No new information is available at this stage and no arrest made. A statement will only be released once there is a development,” said Kinana.

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