South Africa: 13 killed after church's roof collapses during Easter service

At least 13 people lost their lives and 16 were injured, after the roof of the Pentecostal church in Empangeni collapsed here due to heavy rainfall late on Thursday.

Quoting local media, Sputnik reported that the incident occurred while an Easter service was underway.

"The roof of the building collapsed because of heavy rains last night...at this point, we have a total of 13 fatalities", Lennox Mabaso, spokesperson for the KZN Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Department said.

The authorities, while condoling the tragedy, have pledged to launch investigations into the incident.