On 10 March, lightning in Rwanda killed sixteen members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nyaryuguru province. Fourteen of them died immediately, two more after they were taken to the hospital. At least forty-five more people were injured; several of them are in critical condition at different medical centers. In total, about one hundred and forty parishioners from among local residents attended the service during the incident. The day before, on March 9, two more people, including a child, were killed by a lightning strike. On the same day in Rwanda, lightning struck a group of eighteen students, one of whom died immediately. According to the Xinhua news agency, all three incidents occurred less than two weeks after the closure of more than 700 churches in this African country, allegedly due to their inconsistency with building standards and soundproofing requirements for buildings. A number of closed places of worship did not have lightning rods.
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