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

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that three people were rescued and hospitalised 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.

Rescue service workers inspect a scene as a roof collapsed at a railway station, Friday Nov. 1, 2024, in Novi Sad, Serbia. (Interior Ministry of Serbia via AP)
Rescue service workers inspect a scene as a roof collapsed at a railway station. (AP)

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.

Rescue service workers inspect a scene as a roof collapsed at a railway station, Friday Nov. 1, 2024, in Novi Sad, Serbia. (Interior Ministry of Serbia via AP)
Rescue service workers inspect a scene as a roof collapsed at a railway station, in Novi Sad, Serbia. (AP)

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.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he sits in a garbage truck Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Trump jumps in a garbage truck to draw attention to Biden remark

Dacic said the rescue operation was “extremely hard” and that it would last for several more hours.

Serbia’s government declared 2 November a day of mourning.

Rescuers rests at the scene after an outdoor roof collapsed at a train station in Novi Sad, Serbia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Rescuers rests at the scene after an outdoor roof collapsed at a train station in Novi Sad, Serbia. (AP)

Residents of Novi Sad were lighting candles across the street from the railway station in an expression of grief for the lost lives.

Prime Minister Milos Vucevic said, “This is a black Friday for us, for all of Serbia.”

Vucevic said the roof was built in 1964 and an investigation was underway to determine what happened and who is responsible for the tragedy.

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

Serbia’s state railway company said the accident happened at 11.50am local time.

The company said the structure above the station entrance was not touched during the recent renovation.

You May Also Like

Supreme Court Sides with Trump on Deportations, at Least for Now

Supreme Court Sides with Trump on Deportations, at Least for Now

Florida completes epic comeback to beat Houston for first March Madness national championship since 2007

After pulling off a stunning comeback in the Final Four, Houston was…

Trump plans enormous military parade on his birthday

The Trump administration is in the early stages of planning for a…

A cop killer’s possible parole: Letters to the Editor — April 8, 2025

The Issue: David McClary facing a Parole Board that has recently sprung…