Portraits of some teenagers are seen on empty coffins during symbolic mass memorial service in East London on July 6, 2022, after 21 people died in unclear circumstances at a township tavern last month, in an incident that shocked South Africa. | PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The deaths of 21 teenagers in a nightclub tragedy is a crime and South African officials must increase steps to prevent alcohol from being illegally sold to youths, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Wednesday.

"We do not know yet exactly what killed our children. But we do know that the law was broken that night, and probably many nights before then," Ramaphosa said to more than a thousand mourners at the funeral in East London for the young people who died at a tavern nearly two weeks ago.

"We are losing our future generation to the scourge of underage drinking," the president said, urging police to determine the exact cause of their deaths and calling on officials to stop youngsters from being permitted access to bars.

"Blame must be laid at the feet of those who are making money off the dreams and lives of the young people of South Africa by breaking the law and selling them alcohol," he said.

Two rows of caskets in front of Ramaphosa symbolized the young lives lost.

"Today we shed bitter tears for the 21 young people that have died in this tragedy," Ramaphosa said. "These children should not have died. Their deaths could have been prevented had the law been adhered to."

Mournful hymns were sung by a large choir as the 19 coffins were carried into a large tent where the service was held in East London's Scenery Park township. Two families held private burials and the service organizers said the caskets on display were empty, in respect of the wishes of some families. The children are to be buried in various cemeteries later Wednesday and in the coming days, they said.

The tent was filled to capacity so many mourners sat outside.

It's still not known what caused the deaths of the children, one as young as 13, whose bodies were found in the Enyobeni tavern. They were under the legal drinking age of 18 in South Africa, said officials. Pathologists are studying the cause of death from blood samples. A stampede has been ruled out because the victims' bodies did not show serious injuries, said police.

Sinovuyo Monyane, 19, who was hired by the bar to promote an alcohol brand, said last week she was still "confused" but felt lucky to be alive.

She said she struggled to escape through a door gridlocked with people.

"We tried moving through the crowd, shouting 'please let us through,' and others were shouting 'we are dying, guys,' and 'we are suffocating' and 'there are people who can't breathe'," she told AFP.

"I passed out at that moment. I was running out of breath and there was a strong smell of some type of spray on in the air. We thought it was pepper spray," she said.

She later regained consciousness after someone sprayed water on her.

"I got up and realized that there were bodies lying around. I saw people being poured water, but those people did not even move," she said in a phone interview. "I could have died."

Ramaphosa delivered the eulogy as he faces several challenges including South Africa's extended power cuts, wide-ranging allegations of corruption and questions about large amounts of cash reportedly found hidden in furniture in his own game farm.

"I have heard some say I have no business coming here to Scenery Park. Some have said I have bigger problems to fix," Ramaphosa said to the gathering. "But I ask them, what is more important in this country, and on this earth, than the lives of our children?"


A boy reacts during a mass funeral for victims of an east coast tavern where bodies of youth were found which prompted nationwide grief, in the Eastern Cape province, in East London, South Africa, July 6, 2022. | SIPHIWE SIBEKO / REUTERS