About 20 people were found dead in a nightclub in East London, South Africa, officials said.
The bodies were found at Enyobeni Tavern early Sunday morning, with reports that several people were injured.
“The circumstances of the incident are being investigated as we speak,” a police spokesman told Newzroom Africa.
“We do not want to speculate yet,” said Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana.
Dozens of emergency workers are at the scene in the Eastern Cape province.
Relatives of the victims could not find their bodies, the report said, and locals had called for the site to be closed.
Eastern Cape Police Commissioner Lilian Mene told SABC News there were “allegations of stampede in the bar”.
The BBC has not been able to confirm this and details are still emerging.
Four people were taken to hospital, the SABC reported.
Brigadier Kinana told the media that most of those found dead were young people between the ages of 18 and 20.
Eyewitnesses told the Daily Dispatch that the bodies were lying on the ground as if they were lying on the ground.
An Eastern Cape health department spokesman told News24 that the bodies had been taken to various nearby mortuaries.
Siyanda Manana added: “We will examine the bodies immediately to determine the cause of death.”
South African Police Minister Bheki Cele is on his way to the Eastern Cape with a team of additional experts to assist in the investigation, said Premier Oscar Mabuyane.
“We can’t believe it … Young people who are not sick, young people who should be with their families are enjoying the winter holidays – they have just lost their lives like that,” he added.