Reposted from Metro UK

Works of art by Salvador Dali and Francisco Goya were said to have been damaged as the temporary structure fell. One visitor to the exhibition in the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia’s Sverdlovsk Oblast region can be seen having to jump out of the way.

Museum bosses say a group of four girls taking selfies behind the wall were to blame for the accident. Both paintings have reportedly been sent off to be examined by experts in or to determine how badly they were damaged. Museum workers said the frame and glass on the work by Goya were smashed while Dali’s actual picture suffered damage.

The works were on display in the ‘Caprichos’ exhibition featuring works from surrealist painter Dali and Spanish romantic painter Francisco Goya. A police investigation has been launched into the incident but no arrests have been reported. The names of the pieces and their value has also not yet been released

The startling scene was caught on a security camera, where one female visitor walks up to the wall moments before it falls. A shocked woman can be seen behind the wall. A museum employee told local media that a group of female visitors had not been behaving appropriately and this had caused the damage. They said: ‘A group of girls – there were four of them – behaved inadequately.

‘As a result, they damaged two works of art, which were on display in a tandem: pictures by Francisco Goya and Salvador Dali. ‘Goya’s work had its frame and glass broken. ‘As far as Dali’s artwork is concerned, apart from shattered frame and protective glass, it also suffered damage to the picture itself.’ The exhibition is still open.

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