Indian officials blundered and demolished a massive overhead tank without realising that it was filled with water.

The incident happened in Jalandhar in northern India on May 30.

As the tank crashed to the ground and exploded, water gushed out sweeping away men at work and inundated the area.

The impact shattered shutters of the shops and glasses of nearby buildings.

The officials had engaged a private contractor to demolish the tank, which had aged and developed cracks.

Local residents said they had warned the contractor that the tank was filled with but he refused to pay heed.

After fiasco officials, who were supervising the demolition fled the spot, and contractor Harcharan Singh said he had no clue that there was water in the tank.

Mayor Jagdish Raja visited the spot and said: “Action would be taken against officials for the shoddy job.”