On June 26, 2022, 21 teenagers suffered a mysterious death at the Enyobeni bar in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Toxicology tests performed following their deaths reveal that the chemical methanol was found in all of the bodies and is being considered a possible cause of death.
Methanol Was Detected in the Bodies of 21 Teenagers Who Died at a South African Bar in June 2022
Dr. Litha Matiwane, provincial deputy director for clinical service in Eastern Cape led a press conference where the findings were revealed. He said, “Methanol has been detected in all the 21 individuals that were there, however there is still progressive analysis of the quantitative levels of methanol and whether it could have been the final cause of death.”
Methanol is a form of alcohol that is toxic to humans and can be used as a pesticide, solvent, windshield wiper fluid, an additive to fuel, or as fuel. There are many industrial uses for the chemical and none that involve human consumption.
In September 2012, it was the cause of several poison-related deaths in the Czech Republic as it was found in liquor that had been sold. In that case, 38 people died in the Czech Republic and four more in Poland in the initial days of the poisonings.
While authorities are still uncertain as to how the teens were poisoned by methanol and the lab in Cape Town is continuing to run tests, it’s known as bootlegging liquor has become its own industry in South Africa. It has also become a thing in Turkey and India which experienced their own methanol-involved deaths in October 2020.
Bootleg Alcohol Deaths Have Been an Issue Since COVID Began
COVID-19 restrictions meant that alcohol became a little harder to get in some countries and a couple would see the formation of illegal brewing operations. Even with the world opening up more, those illegal distilleries have either managed to stick around or what hasn’t been smashed up by authorities is still in circulation.
It could be both, during Prohibition in the U.S, some bootlegging operations were shut down and those involved—the brewers, the runners, and the bar owners—got fines or jail time. However, the practice never died out. If people want booze, they will get booze.
What is also interesting about this case is that both alcohol poisoning and carbon monoxide inhalation were ruled out. However, with methanol being involved, teens being in a bar, and a number of people who lost their lives, methanol alcohol poisoning doesn’t sound farfetched.
National police minister Bheki Cele said that authorities are awaiting the final toxicology results before moving forward with criminal charges.
As for Enyobeni, the owner of the bar as well as some of their employees were arrested following the deaths but are now out on bail. They are facing charges of selling liquor to children and violating liquor trading laws. Those charges could become much heavier if the deaths are linked to drinks sold in the bar.
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