Lightning strike kills 14, injures 34 at Ugandan church during prayers

Fatal lightning strikes are common in east Africa, especially in schools where buildings lack lightning conductors

A lightning strike on a church on Uganda killed at least 14 people and injured 34 as they gathered for prayers on Saturday, police said.

The incident occurred in the Palabek refugee camp in Lamwo district in northern Ugandan, police said in a post on the X platform on Sunday.

"The victims... had gathered for prayers when the rain started around 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT), and the lightning thunder struck at 5:30 p.m.," police said.

Police did not identify the nationalities of the victims but the camp and others in the region mostly hosts refugees from South Sudan. Most of those refugees had fled during a bloody civil war that gripped the country shortly after its independence in 2011.

The victims were mostly juveniles and included a nine-year-old girl, police said.

Fatal lightning strikes are common in the east African country, especially in schools where structures rarely have lightning conductors.

Palabek Refugee Settlement is home to more than 80,000 refugees and asylum seekers, according to the UN's refugee agency. Many are from neighbouring South Sudan.