The body of an unidentified teenager was found in Soweto on Sunday close to where a yearly beach party, attended by thousands, was held at the township’s Power Park dam on Saturday night.
The corpse was found in Madlala Street in Orlando East, Soweto.
“Community members alerted the police about the girl’s corpse on Sunday morning,” said Captain Nomvula Mbense, of the Orlando police station.
Mbense said the girl, who has not yet been identified, had two stab wounds to her neck. “She was found wearing a black denim mini-skirt and a multicoloured open top,” she said.
About 13 000 people attended this year’s beach party on September 29, which is now in its fifth year. Organisers trucked in about 400 tonnes of sand for the event, bringing a Durban feel to the inland township. Live performers and DJs entertained the crowd, which came armed with towels and folding chairs.
The Sowetan newspaper reported on Monday that the teenager had an entrance sticker on her arm, suggesting that she had attended the party on Saturday.
One of the organisers of the party, Mark Alcock of Minanawe Marketing, told the Mail & Guardian Online on Monday that people with tickets were given wristbands.
“Everyone who bought a ticket had a wristband [on which was] written ‘Soweto Beach Party’. We are not sure if the girl had a sticker or a wristband; we are also trying to find that out,” he said.
He said that ticket sales for the party were restricted to people over the age of 18. “When buying the ticket, people had to produce identification at the outlets, so if she is 16 then she couldn’t have been bought the ticket herself.”
The police’s Mbense added: “The girl has not yet been identified and we have been trying to call the government mortuary [in Diepkloof] to found out more.”