At least 20 people were killed on Wednesday by electrocution after high-voltage cables came down due to lightning in Kintele on the outskirts of Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, according to civil security sources.

In the rains that fell on Brazzaville at around 5 a.m., lightning could have broken up the high voltage cables of the nation's energy firm, Energie electrique du Congo (E2C).

According to eyewitnesses, some of the victims had died in their homes while some others died on the street.

The injured have been transferred to the Talangai Reference Hospital. The final death toll is feared to rise.