Police in the Eastern Cape province said on Wednesday that the proprietor of the pub where 21 youngsters inexplicably perished last month in the South African seaside town of East London had been detained.
The cause of the teens’ deaths has not yet been determined by forensic investigators, but a source familiar with the case says one scenario is that of a chemical or gas leak, and officials are also looking into the possibility of unintentional poisoning.
The murders at the nightclub in Scenery Park municipality have sparked an outpouring of sadness in a country accustomed to losing citizens to a pervasive binge drinking culture.
Angry mourners of some victims have complained that weeks of calls to shut down the tavern went unheeded.
Provincial police said in a statement that the owner, aged 52, was arrested over the weekend, while two employees at the tavern were subsequently arrested on Tuesday.
The owner is expected to appear before the East London Magistrates Court on Aug. 19 to face charges after an investigation that focused on allegedly supplying minors with alcohol, the statement said.
“Just as we said in the beginning, investigation is a process and needs to be treated with extreme care,” Lieutenant-General Nomthetheleli Mene said in the statement.