A lighting bolt struck and wounded 13 male prisoners while they were having lunch at a jail in northwestern Zimbabwe, an official said Tuesday.

Deputy spokesman for the prison services Peter Chaparanganda told AFP that the incident occurred on Friday at the jail in the town of Hwange.

"The inmates were inside the prison yard," when the lightning struck at around 11:30 am (0930 GMT), he said.

The group was taken to hospital where "four of them were reported to be serious while the other nine were reported to be stable," Chaparanganda added.

Lightning accompanying summer thunderstorms is a common occurence and responsible for several deaths each year in Zimbabwe.

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