Fourteen people have been killed when a concrete roof above the entrance of a railway station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad collapsed.
At least three other people were rescued on Friday and hospitalised with serious injuries, Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said. He did not expect the death toll to rise much further.
President Aleksandar Vucic confirmed the death toll in a televised address late on Friday. He said a 6-year-old girl and a citizen of North Macedonia were among those killed and five of the victims still had not been identified.
“It is difficult to say anything meaningful,” Vucic said in his address. “As the president of Serbia, I demand that all those who are responsible for this are … punished.”
The collapse of a 35-metre (115ft) length of roofing occurred at noon (11:00 GMT) on a sunny day in the city about 70km (40 miles) northwest of the capital, Belgrade. The dead were pulled from the rubble throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
“Our windows were open as it was warm outside, and I heard a huge rumble and saw a plume of dust. That’s all I saw. Later I heard what happened,” Vera, an 86-year-old pensioner who lives about 200 metres (220 yards) from the scene, told the Reuters news agency.
About 80 rescuers were at the scene, officials said. Ambulances and emergency teams were dispatched to the downtown station, and bulldozers removed debris.
Emergency services used two large diggers into the evening to help free two women who had been trapped under the rubble. They were in critical condition, said Vesna Turkulov, the head of the Clinical Center of Vojvodina, the hospital where the women were taken.
Surveillance camera footage of the incident showed people moving in and out of the building and sitting on benches before the concrete canopy suddenly collapsed on them.
The station in Serbia’s second largest city reopened in July after three years of renovations. Construction work was continuing in parts of the station.
In his address, Vucic said the canopy had not been part of the recent renovations and pledged to determine both “political and criminal responsibility” for the collapse.
Serbia’s government declared Saturday a day of mourning. Prime Minister Milos Vucevic promised that authorities would investigate the cause of the accident.
“We will insist on finding those responsible, those who should have ensured the structure’s safety. My condolences to the families of the deceased,” the prime minister said.
“This is a black Friday for us, for all of Serbia, for Novi Sad,” Vucevic added.
Serbia Railways also said in a statement that the outdoor roof that collapsed had not been part of the renovations completed at the station.
“Serbia Railways regrets the accident that occurred, and the causes and any new details from the investigation will be promptly announced,” the company wrote in a social media post.
The N1 news channel said train departures were halted from the station on Friday.
Source: Al Jazeera
BDST: 1242 HRS, NOV 02, 2024
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