Toxicological analyzes indicate the presence, in the blood of the victims, of this product sometimes used in the manufacture of counterfeiting alcohol.
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After more than three weeks of waiting and rumors, the families of the 21 teenagers mysteriously died in a bar in East London, in South Africa, June 26, may finally have a track to which S ‘ to hang up. According to the South African authorities, the preliminary results of toxicological analyzes do not reveal deadly alcohol levels or carbon monoxide poisoning. On the other hand, they indicate the presence of methanol in the blood of the victims, a toxic product sometimes used in the manufacture of counterfeiting alcohol.
“Normally, we find [methanol] in industrial products. It can be present in very small quantities in alcohol, but not to the point of finding it in the blood. What we want to know now What is the quantity he is present, “said Doctor Litha Matiwane, Deputy Director of Health Services for the Cap-Oriental Province, after a press conference on Tuesday, July 19. The authorities await the final results of the analyzes before confirming possible poisoning and do not give any indications on the origin of the substance found in the victims.
Colorless, methanol is used as a pesticide or as a solvent in paint, varnishes, dyes … It is also found in certain household products. Highly toxic, it can cause respiratory or heart failure in case of ingestion or inhalation. Cheaper than ethanol, it is sometimes used in the manufacture of counterfeit alcohol. In the first months of the covid-19 pandemic, in 2020, nearly a dozen people died after consuming free alcohol in South Africa.
“It will kill”, promised the organizers
On June 25, a hundred young people found themselves in the Enyobeni taverni, in Scenery Park, a township from the suburbs of East London, on the edge of the Indian Ocean. The exams had just ended, it was the time for the holidays. The announcement of the evening celebrating the birthday of a DJ had largely circulated on social networks. “Kuzofiwa”, promised the organizers – “It will kill”, in Xhosa language. In the early morning, the police found the inanimate bodies of around twenty young people, scattered on the ground and on the tables, without apparent injuries. Seventeen victims have already died, four will die in the hospital. The youngest is 13 years old, the oldest 17.
The drama survivors were treated for headache, vomiting, chest pain and visual disorders. Symptoms could correspond to methanol poisoning. In the aftermath of the drama, some survivors also described panic scenes. The bouncers would have closed the doors of the establishment on the teenagers who were trying to go out, spraying them with gas. Some evoke tear gas, others a pepper gas. All tell suffocating people around them. The authorities dismissed the track from a deadly stampede caused by a crowd movement.
“The fault lies with those who make money on dreams and the future of young South Africans by selling them alcohol illegally,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa during national funerals, the July 6. The tragedy has upset the South Africans, who claim more controls from informal taverns. Townships in particular are full of “Shebeens”, these tiny bars not always declared. Young people are good customers in a country where two out of three are unemployed between 15 and 24 years old. Parents are concerned about the insecurity that reigns there. Since the drama of Enyobeni, several shootings targeting bars have left at least 21 dead in the country.