NOVI SAD, Serbia – Serbia wound up a rescue operation and opened an investigation on Nov 2 into a roof collapse that killed 14 and injured three at a railway station in the northern city of Novi Sad.

The disaster happened on Nov 1 when a length of roofing along the entrance to the station collapsed on a sunny day. Rescuers worked into the night, using heavy construction machinery to free the dead and wounded from under the rubble.

The station in the city about 70km north-west of Belgrade was renovated in 2021 and 2022.

Other minor works continued until July 2024, when the Transportation Ministry said a total of €16 million (S$23 million) had been invested in the renovation.

Transport Minister Goran Vesic said the inquiry, opened by the authorities in Novi Sad, would include the state Traffic Institute, state railway company and the Chinese consortium that undertook the renovation work.

“The investigation will determine... who made decisions and put seals and signatures, who was in charge of controlling the (quality of) works,” he said in a TV broadcast.

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