A lightning strike killed 11 indigenous people and injured another 13 gathered for a ceremony in Colombia's northern mountainous coastal region, media reported Monday.
The incident which happened early Monday at the Wiwa indigenous community left the injured with first- and second-degree burns, Colombia's Caracol news service said, citing a colonel of the army division operating in the area.
Interior Minister Juan Fernando Cristo posted a message via Twitter, saying "we lament the tragedy that took place in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Our solidarity is with the victims and their families."
Once local authorities reported the incident, army helicopters were dispatched to the site to airlift the injured to area hospitals in Santa Marta city on the Caribbean coast.
The Wiwa live in the mid-highlands of Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, a remote mountain range that runs along Colombia's Caribbean coast.