BOGOTA, Colombia鈥揕ightning killed 11 indigenous Colombians and injured 15 others during a meeting of Kogi Indians in a remote mountainous area in the country鈥檚 north, the government said Monday.
The Kogi leaders, who were gathered at a community in the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta range in Magdalena department, were killed by 鈥渁n electrical charge from a lightning bolt,鈥� the national public defender鈥檚 office said.
鈥淭ribal leaders were meeting at the moment when this natural phenomenon took place,鈥� the office, charged with protecting Colombia鈥檚 human rights, said.
The statement added that a community advocate has been sent to the area and that a group of regional officials would accompany the injured to the Caribbean city of Santa Marta for treatment.
Santa Maria is a five-hour drive from the mountain community.