Serbia train station accident death toll rises to 15

BELGRADE:

A victim injured in the collapse of a railway station roof in Serbia this month died on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 15, health officials said.

The concrete roof at the Novi Sad station came crashing down on November 1, killing 14 people, aged from just six to 74 and injuring three others.

"The patient in question suffered the most severe injuries... Despite the efforts and fight of the doctors, the outcome was fatal," Vesna Turkulov, director of the Clinical Centre of Vojvodina, told local media.

Doctors are still trying to save the lives of the two others, who are in serious condition, Turkulov added.

The deadly accident struck Serbia's second-largest city just months after the completion of years-long renovation works at the station.

The tragedy sparked an uproar across Serbia and protests in both Novi Sad and the capital, Belgrade.

Construction Minister Goran Vesic resigned days later but the protests have continued, with demonstrators calling on the prime minister and the mayor of Novi Sad to resign over accusations of government corruption and lax oversight of construction and development projects.

Demonstrators on Sunday blocked traffic for six hours at a crossroad near the train station.

"People died because of corruption, because of your irresponsibility, because you refuse to take accountability," said Jelena Stupljanin, an actor speaking at the protest.

The authorities have promised criminal and political accountability, including further resignations.

So far prosecutors have questioned more than 70 people, including Vesic, but there have been no arrests. AFP