Two Buddhist monks were killed after being struck by lighting while installing a water trough for horses, police believed.

The two men walked across the ground of the temple where seven nags are kept in Ang Thong, central Thailand.

However, there was a sudden thunderstorm on Saturday (March 14) evening when they were working on the sprinkler system to give the horses fresh drinking water.

Several other monks heard the claps of thunder and went to the field where they said they found Suriya Vaedrum, 22, and Premruetai Osapa, 39, dead.

The younger monk had his mobile phone by his side which appeared to have been burned. While the older man had burns along the right side of his body.

The monks lead paramedics to the field and the pair were taken in ambulances and pronounced dead at the hospital.

One of the monks said they had gone out to plant grass seeds and work on the sprinkler in the field, which was being installed to automatically give water the horses.

He said: "They rode a motorcycle and sidecar into the field to plant grass for the seven horses that we have in the temple. Then they were going to work on the water sprinkler for the horses.

"They were gone for such a long time that we started to worry and went out looking for them."

Police Lieutenet Colonel Suksan Passawakang said they believed the monks were struck by lighting but still need the result from their post-mortem examination.

He said: "From the initial examination of the scene and from speaking to witnesses, we suspect they were killed by lightning.''