At least 16 people were killed and 140 others injured when lightning struck a church in southern Rwanda, a provincial governor said Sunday.

Hundreds of members of a Seventh Day Adventist church in the town of Nyaruguru were rushed to nearby hospitals and clinics after lightning struck during a church service on Saturday, said governor Rose Mureshyankwano.

Most people were discharged quickly, but 17 churchgoers remained in hospital on Sunday, two of them with severe injuries, Mureshyankwano added.

In a similar incident on Friday, lightning struck a group of 18 students, killing one of them, according to the provincial governor.