Roof collapse at Serbian railway station kills at least 13

Tragic collapse of concrete roof at Novi Sad railway station in Serbia kills at least 13, with rescue efforts ongoing. Day of mourning declared.

A concrete roof above the entrance of a railway station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad collapsed Friday, killing at least 13 people, with more feared buried under the rubble.

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that three people were rescued and hospitalized with serious injuries, and that he did not expect the death toll to rise much further.

“When we had eight victims, we knew that there were five more people under the rubble for whom we could not establish whether they were alive or dead,” Dacic told reporters.

He said they did not show any signs of life.

“Death occurred on the spot,” Dacic added.

Ambulances and other emergency teams were dispatched to the downtown station and bulldozers were removing the debris looking for survivors. Some 80 rescuers were at the scene as heavy machinery removed large parts of the rubble.

Surveillance camera footage showed people moving in and out of the building and sitting on benches on a bright, sunny day before the concrete canopy suddenly collapsed. The building was recently renovated.