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Five people have died while seven others have sustained various degrees of injuries after being struck by lightning as they were attending prayers at Pentecostal Holiness Association Church in Karonga on Sunday.
The incident happened at Kayerekera in the district.
Karonga Police Deputy Public Relations Officer, Frank Black, said all the deceased are women.
“It has been reported that it started raining heavily as members of the church were deep in their prayers. Suddenly, a lightning struck and injured 12 congregants,” he said.
Black said they were all rushed to Kayerekera Rural Hospital where the five were pronounced dead on arrival.
He said the remaining seven sustained minor injuries and were treated as out-patients.
Postmortem done at the hospital revealed that death of the five was due to cadiogenic electric shock.
