Dhaka: Fourteen people, including children, were killed when a railway station roof collapsed in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad. Two were seriously injured. Their condition is critical. They have been admitted to hospital.
This information was reported in a report by Qatari financial media Al Jazeera on Saturday (November 2).
Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dešić said that the accident occurred when a railway station roof suddenly collapsed at noon local time on Friday in the country's second largest city of Novi Sad. Two more people were buried under the rubble.
He said that more than 80 firefighters and rescue teams are trying to rescue the two people who were buried with the help of sophisticated equipment.
Many people were waiting for the train under the station roof. Several bulldozers are trying to remove the debris and rescue survivors. The Novi Sad Blood Transfusion Institute has also called on local residents to donate blood urgently.
Local media reported that the station reopened in July this year after three years of repairs.
The Serbian railway authority said in a statement that construction work on some parts of the station was still ongoing. However, the passenger shelter that collapsed was not part of the repairs. It is not yet known what caused the shelter to collapse.
The country's President Aleksandar Vučić confirmed the death toll in a televised address late on Friday. He said that a 6-year-old girl and a citizen of North Macedonia were among the dead. Five of the dead have not yet been identified.
He also said that no one responsible for the incident would be spared.