Hundreds hold vigil for victims of roof collapse in northern Serbian city

NOVI SAD, Serbia (AP) — Hundreds of people lit candles and left flowers and toys on Saturday to commemorate 14 people who were killed when a concrete canopy crashed at the entrance of a railway station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad.

Holding signs with names of the victims - the youngest of whom was a 6-year-old girl - residents of Novi Sad stood quietly in grief across the street from the station building where the roof fell on people on Friday.

Many were quietly crying and those who came said they were unable to comprehend how such a tragedy was possible and demanded answers from the authorities. Three people were also injured and remained in a life-threatening condition on Saturday.

“My first feeling was anger because we allow amateurs to run this country,” said Natasa Beljic. “And because I am aware of the fact that no one will be held accountable and that responsibility will fall on completely irrelevant people.”

The long, concrete canopy collapsed suddenly around noon on Friday as people were sitting on benches or coming in and out. Surveillance camera footage on Friday showed the canopy crashing down in seconds.

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Serbia’s government declared Saturday a day of mourning, as officials promised a thorough investigation into Friday’s collapse. Prosecutors said they are questioning all the people involved, including government ministers.

The train station has been renovated twice in recent years, and critics of Serbia’s populist government attributed the disaster to corruption and sloppy renovations. Opposition politician Marinika Tepic said on Saturday, “this is not an accident, this is murder!”

In the Serbian capital of Belgrade, liberal opposition Green-Left Front threw red paint outside the Serbian government headquarters, to send a message that “your hands are bloody.”

Officials have insisted that the canopy had not been part of the renovation work. Goran Vesic, the government minister for construction and infrastructure, told the state RTS television the tragedy would not have happened had the canopy been renovated as well.

Authorities deployed heavy machinery and some 80 rescuers who struggled for hours to remove large parts of concrete. The rescue effort lasted until late Friday evening with bulldozers rummaging through tons of rubble outside the building.

Mira Stankovic, a Novi Sad resident who also came to the vigil said she now feels unsafe: “I feel terrible, I feel anxious, I have some fear inside me.” She said she no longer trusts the railways, tunnels or bridges.

The railway station, including the canopy, was built in 1964. The renovation work was carried out by Chinese companies.

The renovated station was inaugurated by President Aleksandar Vucic and his populist ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, over two years ago as a major stopover for a planned fast train line between Belgrade and Budapest.