Two third-year students from Vaal University of Technology (VUT) died after drinking alcohol mixed with cough syrup.
Police said the bodies were covered in vomit and were found not far from each other.
Sharpville police spokesman Busisiwe Sango said the information available to him was that the two women were seen drinking dry gin mixed with cough syrup on Sunday.
That concotion, Sango said, is popularly known as Lean.
Later, around 7 pm, the women went to the VUT’s outdoor residence on Froneman Street in Vanderbijlpark.
“At this point, they were both smoking sparkling bubbles. At around 7:45 am they showed signs of illness and a friend offered them a place to sleep.”
“Only one of them slept there. The other student went to another resident of the residence which is one block away. ”
Sango said the student who accepted the offer to sleep at the Froneman Street residence was found vomiting and died in the morning.
While there were other people in the room at the time, they didn’t hear her throwing up at night.
While everyone was in shock, the other student who had slept in the neighboring residence was also found dead. She had slept alone in the room and was also covered in vomit.
One of the students was 21 and studying Fine Arts. She was from Orange Farms and was in the dormitory.
The other who died, Sango said, was 22 from Sebokeng. She was studying Tourism and also stayed at the residence.
Sango said an investigation has been opened and they are awaiting a toxicology report.
