A concrete roof at a Novi Sad railway station collapsed, killing 13 and injuring others. Rescuers continue to search for survivors.
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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.
Three other people were rescued and hospitalised with serious injuries, while more are feared dead.
“Probably there will be several more people (dead),” Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said.
"After the initial eight (victims), we saw five more for which we could establish whether they were dead or alive, but we didn't want to make any announcements until they were pulled out (of the rubble). Unfortunately, they were dead," he added.
Earlier on Friday, rescuers established contact with two people still buried under piles of concrete. Both were successfully rescued, he said.
The government in Serbia has declared Saturday as a day of mourning. All public events planned for the weekend in Novi Sad have been cancelled, authorities said.
Questions raised over recent renovation
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.
The building in Novi Sad — the capital of the province of Vojvodina — was recently renovated.
Prime Minister Miloš Vučević said "this is a black Friday for us, for all of Serbia."
Vučević said the roof was built in 1964 and an investigation was under way to determine what happened and who was responsible for the tragedy.
Serbia's state railway company, Železnice Srbije, said the accident happened at 11:50 am. The company said the construction above the station entrance was not part of the recent reconstruction of the station building.
In response to appeals for his resignation, Infrastructure Minister Goran Vesić also said that the building permit for the reconstruction did not include the external awning.
However, Serbian experts pointed out to domestic media that the renovation work might have caused a structural change to the building, indirectly resulting in the roof's collapse.