According to a local official and state media, at least four children died, and 15 others were hurt on Sunday when a church collapsed in southern Burundi due to heavy rain.
At around seven in the morning (0500GMT), powerful gusts and torrential rain started to batter Kiyange, according to local government official Esperance Inarukundo.
As youngsters took religious education courses at the Kiyange Pentecostal church, the terrible weather "caused a lot of damage, including the collapse of the church," according to Inarukundo.
"We are continuing to search the rubble and have already found the bodies of four dead children and 15 injured in the church," she said, adding that residents, the Burundi Red Cross, and civil protection were helping the rescue operation.
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The government-run Burundi News Agency reported the number of fatalities on X, formerly Twitter, and said that "a church wall collapsed" over the kids.
Burundi, a landlocked nation with 12 million residents, is among the world's poorest.
