A single lightning strike is believed to have killed more than 300 reindeer in Norway.

A total of 323 reindeer were found dead in the southern part of Norway on the Hardangervidda plateau, a press release from the Norwegian Environment Agency said. Among the 323 killed were 70 calves. An official from the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate discovered their carcasses during a routine inspection on Friday.

Officials said they believe the herd of reindeer was killed by lightning strike as they huddled together during a heavy thunderstorm.

Of the 323 reindeer killed, five had to be euthanized because of their injuries.

Get our Space Newsletter. Sign up to receive the week's news in space. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Now Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com.