A lightning strike in a remote area of eastern South Africa has killed seven people attending an end-of-year meeting for nursery schools, a government official said today.

Bonginkosi Meshack Radebe, the provincial welfare minister, said that a four-year-old child was among those killed on Friday.

The others were adults and included a nursery school principal and teachers who had gathered from across the rural area for the meeting.

Mr Radebe said 40 others were injured. He is travelling to the scene, a community hall in an impoverished area of KwaZulu-Natal province.

He said his department will pay for funerals and provide other assistance.