Roof collapse at railway station in Serbia kills at least eight

A concrete roof above the entrance of a railway station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad collapsed Friday, killing at least eight people.

At least four other people were hospitalised with serious injuries, while rescuers established contact with two people still buried under piles of concrete. One of them — a 14-year-old girl — was successfully rescued, authorities said.

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.

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.