LIGHTNING struck only once - but 52 cows are dead at a Uruguayan farm.

The cows had pressed against a wire fence during a storm when the lightning bolt struck in the northern state of San Jose, the newspaper El Pais reports.

This photograph released by the San Jose police department shows the black and brown cows lying dead in a long row. Veterinarians told the newspaper that cows often crowd around fences to seek protection during storms.

Meteorologist Fernando Torena told the newspaper he wasn't surprised that a single lightning bolt killed so many cows. But he conceded it was "very bad luck".