Railway station cantilever collapses in Serbia
BELGRADE (EFE).- The death toll from the collapse of a cantilever at the railway station in the Serbian city of Novi Sad has risen to 14, with three others seriously injured, the interior minister said on Saturday. Serbia, Ivica Dasic, at the conclusion of the work.
The structure above the main entrance and bench area collapsed around noon on Friday, when the station was very busy at the beginning of the weekend.
Dačić told the press that there were 17 people under the debris, but only three survived, while the others died instantly.
Four of those who died are still to be identified. Dozens of people were injured, but most suffered minor injuries.
“I was the second person to stand in a long line to buy a ticket. If it had been a minute or two later, he would have fallen on me. It was like a bomb explosion,” a witness told Portal 021.
national day of mourning
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic declared this Saturday a day of national mourning and called for those responsible for the collapse to be punished.
Vucic said, “As President, I call on the Novi Sad Prosecutor’s Office and the Government of Serbia to prosecute and severely punish those responsible for what happened.”
The entire opposition of Novi Sad – a city of approximately 300,000 inhabitants – has expressed its condolences to the families and friends of the victims and called on all residents to gather in front of the station this Saturday at 5:00 pm in solidarity with those affected. .
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic also expressed his regret on the “X” network on the occasion of the tragedy that occurred in Novi Sad: “My condolences to everyone affected by the tragedy that occurred in Novi Sad. “Our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to the victims. Are with the families of.”
Built in 1964, the station was recently renovated and reopened to the public last July. The consortium of Chinese state companies in charge of the works indicated that the collapsed structure was not the subject of any intervention.
Some experts believe that even if the fallen cantilever was not restored, during the work the structural elements of the building could have been altered which could have caused the structure to collapse.