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Fourteen people, including several children, have died in a refugee camp in Uganda after a lightning bolt struck a church built by camp residents, according to officials.
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About 50 people were praying in the church in the Balabak refugee camp in northern Uganda when a severe storm hit, according to police.
Fourteen people were killed when lightning struck the metal roof: five girls and nine young men aged between 14 and 18.
The police explained that 34 people were injured and were treated at a nearby health centre.
Most of the refugees are from the Nuer tribe from South Sudan.
“The government is working with UNHCR and other agencies to get the necessary assistance to survivors,” said Hilary Oneke, Uganda’s Minister of Refugees and Disaster Preparedness.
She explained that “a government team was sent to the site to deliver the bodies to their families.”
In recent years, Uganda has seen several fatal accidents caused by lightning strikes.
In 2011, at least 18 students were killed by a lightning bolt that struck an elementary school, and nine died in a similar accident in August 2020.