Police were called to the scene shortly after midnight. “When we arrived there were 12 dead,” said Lieutenant Elias Mawela. 11 injured were taken to hospital, two of whom later died.

According to the South African server eNCA, the condition of the three injured people is critical. “Initial investigations suggest that people were having fun at the bar when the assailants entered and started shooting indiscriminately at those present,” Mawela said.

Investigators are still at the scene and said the victims were aged between 19 and 35.

Eyewitnesses testified that the shooters were masked and arrived in a minibus that doubled as a taxi. According to the BBC’s Mawela speaking station, it appeared to be a “cold-blooded attack on an innocent guest of the establishment”.

In Pietermaritzburg, two attackers arrived at the venue in a Volkswagen on Saturday night and started shooting at guests. Two died at the scene and two later in hospital.

The incident has reignited a debate about bar opening hours and alcohol sales that has simmered since June’s tragedy in the city of East London. 21 young people celebrating the end of the exam period died at a club there on the evening of 26 June.

The cause of their death is still not completely clear, it is suspected that they inhaled toxic substances or were poisoned by food or drink.

The police commander in Gauteg province said after the night of the shooting in Soweto that authorities should focus on the opening hours of businesses where alcohol is sold.