This footage shows customers running for their lives as the floor at a building materials shop in Russia collapses under their feet.

The video shows the shoppers and staff narrowly avoiding falling through the gaping hole that opens up beneath them and being crushed by falling boxes.

For one person it is a near miss, as they are knocked over by the falling boxes and nearly fall in the hole while others can be seen coming to their rescue as the footage ends.

The floor collapsed under customers and staff at a building materials store called “Colour”, in Ust-Ilimsk, in south-eastern Siberia, in the Irkutsk Oblast, in Russia, on Friday, 11th August.

Footage of the floor collapsing was caught on CCTV, with local media reporting that no one was injured in the incident.

The local prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the collapse.

CEN obtained a statement from the Prosecutor’s Office of the Irkutsk region dated 11th August saying: “The Ust-Ilimsk inter-district prosecutor’s office organised an investigation into a report found during monitoring about the destruction of the floor in the trading hall of one of the stores in Ust-Ilimsk.

“During the inspection, the prosecutor’s office will evaluate compliance with urban planning and other legislation in places of mass stay of citizens, as well as in the field of labour protection.

“Based on the results of supervisory activities, if there are grounds, prosecutorial response measures will be taken.”