Methanol Detected In Blood Of Enyobeni Tavern Victims.. In a media briefing on Tuesday, deputy director-general in the Eastern Cape Health Department, Litha Matiwane, said that they were still trying to establish how the deceased came into contact with methanol.
Government officials in the Eastern Cape said that they have detected methanol in the bodies of 21 teenagers who were found dead at the Enyobeni Tavern in East London late last month.
Methanol is a toxic alcohol that is used industrially as a solvent, pesticide and alternative fuel source. It’s not meant for drinking.
In a media briefing on Tuesday, deputy director-general in the Eastern Cape Health Department, Litha Matiwane, said that they were still trying to establish how the deceased came into contact with methanol.
JUST IN: Government officials in the Eastern Cape have ruled out that 21 young people who were found dead at #EnyobeniTavern on 26 June 2022 were killed as a result of a stampede and/or over-consumption of alcohol. ND
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) July 19, 2022
“We can’t say whether they have ingested it or whether it was a by-product of a chemical that they have taken.”
He said, however, that lab results had ruled out the possibility that the deceased died as a result of a stampede or over-consumption of alcohol.
Matiwane has emphasised that contact with methanol cannot yet be declared as the cause of death as they still need to establish how it was consumed and whether the consumption levels were lethal.
Government authorities in the Eastern Cape have called for patience amid an inquest into the deaths of 21 teenagers tavern.