The fire caused 1 million euros (£867,000) worth of daamge (Picture: Landkreis Saalfeld-Rudolstadt)

It sounds like something straight out of a Greek tragedy.

A lightning strike flashed out of the sky and set a village on fire.

That is what happened in the 600-person town of Drognitz,Germany,according to the local mayor.

A huge fire swept through the rural town on Thursday night,reducing three houses and several barns to rubble.

Residents reported a deafening bang before the sky went bright as day,according to the public broadcaster MDR Thüringen.

Damage from the blaze has been estimated to be as high as 1million euros (£867,000).

The fire started after a lightening strike hit a barn,the mayor said (Picture: Landkreis Saalfeld-Rudolstadt)

Firefighters were first called to the scene just after midnight,with 150 trying to quell the flames at one time.

The devastation left 18 people,aged between 2 and 96,homeless.

According to Mayor Tom Zimmermann,lightning was the likely culprit for the fire. It’s thought lightning struck a barn as a thunderstorm passed over the area.

‘The barn was immediately engulfed in flames,’ the mayor told the German Press Agency.

Around 150 firefighters battled the fire for hours (Picture: Landkreis Saalfeld-Rudolstadt)

The fire continued to rage well into Friday morning in spite of the efforts of disaster relief services and the mountain rescue unit of the German Red Cross.

‘It’s still burning,’ said a police spokeswoman. ‘Embers are constantly flaring.’

Officers are continuing their enquiries into the cause of the fire so were unable to confirm whether a lightning strike was behind it.

Three houses were totally destroyed (Picture: Landkreis Saalfeld-Rudolstadt)

District Administrator Marko Wolfram,51,said: ‘What happened here is terrible.

‘My sympathy goes out to the affected families. A big thank you goes to the emergency crews who managed to prevent the fire from spreading further.’

The local area has also set up a donation account for the 18 people who lost their homes.