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(Image: GETTY)

The victim, 31, died when the metal ball blew up after it was heated on the grill of a family’s barbeque.

It is not known whether the boule was placed on the BBQ on purpose or had been left there by accident.

The freak accident happened during a heatwave in the French town of Boulou, close to the border with Spain.

A source said: “Medics were called, and a doctor arrived by air ambulance to organise an evacuation by helicopter. Sadly the victim died from very serious injuries to his head.”

At least five other people were in the garden at the time of the accident, including three children aged between eight and 10.

All suffered “psychological trauma” but were physically unhurt, said the source.

Pétanque, one of the most popular games in France, is a form of boules that involves tossing metal balls as close to a small wooden ball as possible.

The main balls are usually made by welding two steel half-spheres together before they are heated to around 900F.

(Image: GETTY)

Investigators are considering whether a manufacturing defect or a chemical reaction may have caused the ball to explode with such horrific consequences.

Last July, a petanque ball exploded after it was left in a fire pit on a beach.

Metal shards hit a teenager in the chest, seriously injuring them.

There are no other known examples of anyone being killed by an exploding petanque ball.