Protesters demand arrests after train station roof collapses in Serbia

Angry protesters left red handprints at the entrances of government buildings in the Serbian capital on Sunday, demanding the arrest of officials after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in the north of the country, killing 14 people and seriously injuring three others.

Police formed a cordon outside the Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure in central Belgrade as several thousand people called on senior government ministers, including Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, to resign immediately.

“Arrest, arrest!” – the crowd chanted.

They shouted to police outside the building that they were “guarding murderers” and “you have blood on your hands,” holding banners that read “Corruption kills” and “We are all under the shadow!”

Opposition political activist Nikola Ristic urged: “Wherever you can, leave bloody hands so that they know that their hands are bloody. In every city in Serbia, wherever possible.”

A concrete canopy that ran along the front of a train station in the northern city of Novi Sad suddenly collapsed on Friday, landing on people who were sitting on benches or walking through the building’s entrance.

Security camera footage shows the dome collapsing in a matter of seconds.

Among the dead is a six-year-old girl.

All three wounded, aged between 18 and 24, had to have their limbs amputated and were still in serious condition on Sunday, doctors said.

Funerals for the victims, attended by thousands of people, took place in northern Serbia.

The train station has been renovated twice in recent years, and critics of Serbia’s populist government blame the disaster on rampant corruption, a lack of transparency and sloppy renovations. The renovation was part of a wider deal with Chinese construction companies.

Liberal politician Biljana Stojkovic said: “Citizens have nothing left to lose, they are increasingly aware of this. It’s grief combined with anger, despair, turning into rage.”

Serbia’s populist government has vowed a thorough investigation, and prosecutors said they have already questioned more than two dozen people.

But critics say justice is unlikely to prevail if populists maintain a firm grip on the judiciary and police.

Officials say the canopy was part of renovation work, suggesting it was the reason it collapsed but without explaining why.

Novi Sad station was originally built in 1964, and the renovated station was opened by President Aleksandar Vucic and his populist ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, more than two years ago as the main stop for a planned high-speed rail line between Belgrade and Budapest.