A gamekeeper at Norway's Hardangervidda plateau discovered the reindeer following a thunderstorm, authorities said on Monday.

At least 322 reindeer were apparently struck by lightning on Friday as they clustered together during a storm. Some of the reindeer were still alive when they were found, but had to be put down due to their injuries.

While park officials said it was not unusual for the occasional animal to be struck by lightning, the magnitude of Friday's incident was almost unprecedented.

Unprecedented

"It's unusual. We've never seen anything like this on this scale," Kjartan Knutsen, an official from the Norwegian Environmental Agency, told the AFP news agency.

Authorities have not yet decided what to do with the reindeer.

The Hardangervidda national park is a popular tourist attraction, known for its natural beauty and the largest herd of wild reindeer in Europe.

blc/jm (AP, AFP, dpa)