Caught On Camera: Two Women Have Lucky Escape After Balcony Collapses On Them

Video footage of the incident shows the two women moving away in the nick of time as large slate sheets come crashing down next to them

Two women in Russia had a lucky escape after a part of a balcony in an apartment complex they were entering came crumbling down on them. The incident that occurred in the city of Izhevsk was captured on CCTV. The footage shows the two women walking up a flight on the stairs in front of the building. No sooner did they reach the door, than they noticed that sheets of slate were crashing down from one of the floors of the high-rise building. The duo showed great presence of mind and rushed from the spot, only to have the slab crash inches away from where they were standing a few seconds later. One of the women also appeared to have hurt her ankle as a large piece of slab brushed past her leg as the two hurried down the stairs. The video of the incident soon went viral on social media. According to local news outlets, the chairman of the Association of Councils of Houses of Udmurtia, Alexander Evseev said that the management company is not to blame for the incident as the balcony cladding is the property of the owner of the apartment. "In this case, the management company must, from a safety point of view, notify the owner of the need to carry out work. Responsibility for the damage is borne by the culprit, who, based on the circumstances, can be determined by the court," the official said. Further, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Udmurt Republic said, "As part of the audit, a set of measures is being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident, based on its results, they will be given a legal assessment."