Scaffold Falls on 4 Visitors at L.A. Museum

Construction scaffolding collapsed shortly before noon today at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, injuring four visitors, three of them seriously, according to initial reports.

The collapse occurred at the Wilshire Boulevard complex which currently houses a popular show of Impressionist art from the Hermitage Museum in Moscow and the injured apparently were waiting in line to see the show.

Construction crews have been working to build a new modern art wing at the museum.

Two women and two men, believed to be in their 50s or 60s, were hurt but no workers were injured, a Fire Department spokesman said.

Three city rescue ambulances and three fire companies were sent to the building next to the famed La Brea Tar Pits.

Three of the injured were taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The fourth was taken to Westside Hospital.

A portion of the scaffolding apparently fell as it was being moved, striking the concrete below and bouncing up in an area where visitors were lined up to see the Impressionist exhibit.