Deadly end-of-term party claims another life
The death toll from an end of term party in Durban where an unknown drug was consumed by high school pupils has climbed to four.
|||Durban – The death toll from an end of term party in Durban where an unknown drug was consumed has climbed to four.
Police spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said that four inquests had now been opened at KwaMashu police station.
The four, most of whom were pupils from KwaMashu’s Zeph Dhlomo High School, died as a result of consuming the unknown drug.
On Wednesday, the KwaZulu-Natal social development department announced that social workers had been sent to help the families of the 32 children hospitalised. Two of those have died overnight since the announcement, bringing the total death toll to four.
Education department spokesman Sicelo Khuzwayo said that MEC Peggy Nkonyeni was concerned about the incident.
“While this thing happened out of school, it is very worrying,” said Khuzwayo.
He said the department’s information was that most of those involved came from the same neighbourhood.
“Police are investigating the circumstances around the incidents. No arrests have been made,” said Zwane.
The Daily News newspaper in Durban identified the dead as Simphiwe Dludla, 18, Siyabonga Mngadi, 19, Nokwanda Mvula, 25, and Mduduzi Zakwe.
The newspaper reported that it was suspected that the drug was a type of ecstasy.
According to the newspaper, three of the four had been celebrating the end of the first term at a “slaughterhouse” - the local term for a drug den - in KwaMashu where they had consumed the drug along with alcohol.
African News Agency
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.