Giant clock falls on workmen repairing US university bell tower

Workman repairing a US university bell tower narrowly escaped injury when a giant clock fell from a construction crane.

Footage shared by a student at Indiana’s Purdue University on Instagram showed the moment the replacement clock face snapped from a wire and bounced off the edge of the crew’s lift platform before plunging to the ground.

Although none of the maintenance workers were injured in the accident, the video showed they were only inches away from getting crushed by the huge timepiece.

The clock face was shattered and part of Purdue University Bell Tower was also damaged when struck by the falling object.

The Ohio company contracted by the university to repair the bell tower repair issued an apology and said it was investigating what had happened.

“The Verdin Company has been in business for over 175 years and safety while installing our products is one of our highest priorities and we have a very strong safety record,” said a company spokesperson.

“We want to express our sincerest apology to Purdue university regarding the damage to their clock."