World

Lightning bolt hits Colombian tribal ceremony

/ AP

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Authorities say 11 members of a remote indigenous tribe along Colombia's Caribbean coast were killed when a lightning bolt struck a thatch-roofed hut where they were gathered.

Military officials said Monday that another 15 members of the Wiwa tribe that live high in the coastal Sierra Nevada range were injured with burns, six of them seriously. The electrical storm took place around midnight as the tribe was performing a traditional ceremony accompanied by tribe elders known as "Mamos."

Colombian rescue workers, soldiers and police officers help to guide lightning strike victims from a helicopter at an army base in Santa Marta, Oct. 6, 2014. REUTERS

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos confirmed the deaths and expressed his condolences, ordering the military to evacuate by helicopter injured tribe members who otherwise would have to walk downhill six hours to the nearest road.

First published on October 7, 2014 / 9:53 AM EDT

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