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One of Prague's main landmarks, the National Museum, was closed Thursday after some of the building's decorative stone sculptures broke off and tumbled 40 metres (130 feet) to the ground near the building's entrance.
"Fortunately no-one was standing there at the time," museum director Michal Lukes told AFP.
Scaffolding will be erected around the massive edifice which dominates Prague's central Wenceslas Square to protect visitors, he added. "We hope to reopen the museum tomorrow," Lukes said.
The museum, visited by around half a million people every year, will press for repairs scheduled to start next year to begin immediately, he added.
Museum authorities have long warned about the dangerous state of the building, including the two metre (6.6 foot) high sculptures which form part of its decoration.
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Czech-accident-offbeat
AFP 121602 GMT 07 06
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