RAWALPINDI, May 13: A substantial part of a section of a sensitive government installation in Kahuta was heavily damaged when its building was struck by lightning on Saturday night, Dawn learnt on Sunday through a security source.

The source said that during a thunderstorm at around 10.30pm on Saturday, the lightning struck the technical department of the installation, about 60km from Islamabad, and triggered a blaze.

Fire-fighters and senior officers reached the place soon after the flames engulfed the building. It took the department’s fire-fighters two hours to bring the fire under control. By that time, the source said, over 65 per cent of the building had been gutted. He added that police and fire services of the civil administration were not involved in the operation. There was no casualty.

The report of the incident has been sent to relevant authorities, the source said.

No official word was available on the incident.

The installation, a multi-programme research institute of the government, is managed and operated under close scrutiny of the armed forces.