Soweto – South African police found 10 people dead late on Monday after a stampede occurred during a looting spree in the Johannesburg township of Soweto, a provincial government official said.
“The police discovered in the evening that 10 people died during (a) stampede,” provincial premier David Makhura told reporters in Soweto on Tuesday.
The death toll for Gauteng stood at 19 deaths, he said.
ALSO READ | #ZumaUnrest | Soldiers step up deployment to quell looting
Earlier, Sihle Zikalala, premier of the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, said 26 people there had died.
“These were people killed during stampedes as protesters ran riot,” Zikalala said, without specifying locations.
TV footage showed dozens of women, some wearing their dressing gowns, men and even children strolled into a butcher’s cold store in of Soweto, coming out balancing heavy boxes of frozen meat on their shoulders or heads.
Follow African Insider on Facebook and Twitter
Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
