Thirteen inmates at Hwange Prison were hospitalised on Friday after they were struck by lightning while having lunch in the prison courtyard, officials said.
Deputy spokesperson for the prison services Peter Chaparanganda told AFP that the incident occurred on Friday at the jail in the town of Hwange.
“The inmates were inside the prison yard,” when the lightning struck at around 11:30, he said.
The group was taken to hospital where “four of them were reported to be serious while the other nine were reported to be stable,” Chaparanganda added.
Lightning accompanying summer thunderstorms is a common occurrence and responsible for several deaths each year in Zimbabwe.