As many as 14 people have been shot dead at a tavern in Soweto, just after midnight on Sunday.

The Citizen reports that several people were injured, while others are in a critical condition, according to the police.

eNCA has reported that a witness said masked gunmen were allegedly behind the shooting and that they fled in a Toyota Quantum.

Gauteng police commissioner, Elias Mawela, told Newzroom Afrika that the police were informed that as many as 33 people were injured in the shooting.

Mawela says it happened at the Mdlalose tavern in the Nomzamo section of Soweto.