Police dispute death and rape claims are linked to party in Pretoria

Gauteng police have disputed claims on social media that people died and were raped at a party in Akasia, north of Pretoria, at the weekend.

"There was a function and the police attended to it, but we can't really say that any altercations were directly linked to that. No one died," said police spokesperson Captain Riana van Aarde.

Van Aarde said unrelated rape dockets were opened at the weekend but added that police were still investigating if any could be linked to the event.

This after some took to Twitter claiming that several people died and others were raped at the EMB Party at the Forum Building in Wonderpark on Saturday.

Party organisers said in a statement that people without tickets had gathered in large numbers outside the gates of the venue.

"The security measures taken for the event did not anticipate such a large group of people outside attempting to forcefully enter the venue. As a result, the security personnel were overwhelmed and there were disruptions at the entrance and surrounding areas outside the venue.

"We wish to confirm that, contrary to social media speculation, there were no serious incidents of gross criminal activity, or physical harm reported to the organisers, on site medical team or the local police," the organisers said.