A driver of a Hitachi excavator had a miraculous escape when he was trying to bring down a water tank.

The water tank fell keeled over and fell on the excavator missing the driver by inches.

The dramatic incident occurred at a village in Vijayapura district in South India.

A crowd had gathered to watch officials bring down the water tank, which had been replaced by a new structure.

As the tank came down on the excavator, the crowd shouted in shock saying, “He’s gone.”

But they also showed relief when they saw the driver getting out of his cabin without a scratch.

Many blamed the officials for planning the demolition unscientifically.

A local resident, Akshay Horatti, said: “The plan was to remover the plaster on the pillars with the excavator and then pull down the tank. But the structure was weaker than they thought.''