Terrifying moment shopping mall roof is ripped off by wind and smashes down onto Russian 14-year-old girl’s head, leaving her fighting for life
- Pedestrians had just seconds to try to escape as the roof hurtled through the air
- Video shows the moment the roof becomes detached and hits two children
- A 14-year-old named Anastasia was crushed under the huge metal structure
- She is in intensive care having sustained serious head injuries in freak incident
- Police are now investigating alleged safety abuses at the shopping centre
- The frightening ordeal happened in the village of Bizhbulyak in western Russia
A 14-year-old girl has been left fighting for her life after wind ripped a shopping mall’s roof off and brought it crashing down onto her head.
A video shows the terrifying moment the huge metal structure is hurled through the air by a powerful gust of wind and lands on top of pedestrians in a Russian village.
The young girl, named Anastasia, is in intensive care having suffered serious head injuries in the freak incident.
She was out with a friend in the village of Bizhbulyak in Bahkiria, also known as Bashkortostan, in western Russia.
Footage, apparently filmed from inside a nearby car, shows the group running away after spotting the roof hurtling towards them.
A second later, it crashes down, surrounding the children. One emerges from under the crushed roof, apparently having avoided serious injury, and seems to be running to find Anastasia.
The roof, which has fallen in a heap, then sways in the wind before collapsing flat onto the ground.
A 14-year-old girl has been left fighting for her life after wind ripped a shopping mall’s roof off and brought it crashing down onto her head. Pictured: The young girl and a friend seconds before the freak incident
The young girl, named Anastasia, is in intensive care having suffered serious head injuries when the roof crashed down upon her
An air ambulance took the injured girl to a leading children’s hospital in the capital Ufa where she underwent brain surgery, Artur Zaripov, head of the village administration said.
‘Her condition is stable, but extremely difficult,’ he said, adding: ‘Her mother and close relatives are constantly at her bedside.’
The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into alleged safety abuses leading to the accident.
‘Investigators are questioning eyewitnesses, management and employees of the shopping centre,’ a spokesman said.
‘A legal assessment will be given regarding those responsible for the repair, maintenance and operation of the shopping centre.’
The remnants of the roof are seen in a heap on the ground where they fell onto the girl after being blown off by the wind