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French man blows up house trying to swat a fly

An elderly man in the Dordogne region of south-west France escaped with slight burns after he blew up his kitchen and damaged the roof of his house when swatting an irritating fly with an electric racket that set off a blast from a gas leak, while the fate of the fly is unknown.

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A man has blown up part of his house in France while trying to swat a fly, reports BBC News.

The man, who is in his 80s, was about to tuck into his dinner when he became irritated by a fly buzzing around him.

He picked up an electric racket designed to kill bugs and start swatting at it - but a gas canister was leaking in his Dordogne home.

A reaction between the racket and the gas caused an explosion, destroying the kitchen and partly damaging the roof of the home in Parcoul-Chenaud village.

Read more of this report from BBC News.