Worker killed ahead of Moscow protest rally

A man helping to construct the stage for a major protest rally in Moscow has died after a column of sound equipment collapsed.

The accident came just a few hours before opponents of President Vladimir Putin were due to gather for a demonstration.

The rally marks the one-year anniversary of a protest on the eve of Mr Putin’s inauguration that ended in clashes between police and demonstrators.

About two dozen people face charges stemming from the clashes; most remain in jail a year after the protest.

The Interfax news agency said the man killed was a 25-year-old opposition supporter.

A city safety official was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying investigators were inspecting the accident site at Bolotnaya Square, on an island near the Kremlin.