• A forgotten Second World War munitions depot exploded during a forest fire on the French Atlantic coast, causing over a hundred explosions and damaging nearby houses.
• The mayor of the village of Le Porge, Martial Zaninetti, revealed that the explosions were caused by buried ammunition depots on private land that were unknown to the municipality.
• Explosives experts inspected the site after the explosions, which were likely caused by a cache of German ammunition left behind by retreating Wehrmacht troops in 1944.

A forgotten Second World War munitions depot has exploded during the devastating forest fire on the French Atlantic coast.

"In our municipality, there were - unbeknownst to us - ammunition depots buried on private land that have exploded," the mayor of the village of Le Porge, Martial Zaninetti, told broadcaster France Info on Thursday.

On the second night of the fire, as flames over ten metres high engulfed the houses, a deafening noise rang out that sounded like "the noise of war", he said.

The local newspaper Ouest-France reported that it was probably a cache of German ammunition, which is still frequently found in the region.

"At first we thought it was gas cylinders, but it was far too violent for that," said the mayor.

"Grenades did indeed explode; some on the ground, others flew off to the right and left. One of them even flew through a house," he added, "there was a great deal of ammunition."

He estimated that more than a hundred explosions could be heard.

Explosives experts later inspected the site and plan to return in a few days. By the time the explosions occurred, the residents had already been evacuated.

One homeowner later went to the scene to check that everything was all right, and noticed a hole in a window shutter, reported Ouest-France.

He then found a grenade on the bedroom floor that had smashed through the shutter and the window pane. It appears it was propelled through the air by the force of the explosions and struck the house without exploding itself.

Finds of German munitions in the region are not uncommon, as German troops built numerous bunkers, command posts and ammunition depots in the dunes and woods along the coast.

When the Wehrmacht retreated in 1944, many of these installations had to be abandoned, in some cases hastily, leaving behind ammunition and other military equipment.