Protesters demand arrests after the fatal collapse of a railway station roof in Serbia

Angry protesters left red handprints at the entrances to government buildings in the Serbian capital on Sunday to demand the arrest of officials after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in the country’s north, killing 14 people and seriously injuring three others hit.

Police formed a cordon outside the Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure in central Belgrade as several thousand people called for the immediate resignation of senior ministers, including Prime Minister Milos Vucevic.

“Arrest, arrest!” the crowd sang.

They shouted at police officers outside the building that they are “guarding murderers” and “your hands are bloody,” as they held banners reading “Corruption kills” and “We are all under the canopy!”

Opposition political activist Nikola Ristic urged: “Leave bloody hands everywhere you can, so they know their hands are bloody. In every city in Serbia, wherever you can.”

The concrete canopy that lines the front of the train station in the northern city of Novi Sad suddenly collapsed on Friday, landing on people sitting on benches or walking through the building’s entrance.

CCTV footage showed that the roof collapsed within seconds.

Among the dead was a six-year-old girl.

Of the three injured, aged between 18 and 24, all had to have limbs amputated and remained in serious condition on Sunday, doctors said.

Funerals for the victims, attended by thousands, have taken place in northern Serbia.

The train station has been renovated twice in recent years and critics of Serbia’s populist government attributed the disaster to rampant corruption, lack of transparency and shoddy renovations. The renovation was part of a broader deal with Chinese construction companies.

Liberal politician Biljana Stojkovic said: “Citizens have nothing left to lose, they are becoming more and more aware of this. This is sadness mixed with anger, despair turning into rage.”

Serbia’s populist government has promised a thorough investigation, with prosecutors saying they have already questioned more than 20 people.

But critics believe that justice is unlikely to be served if populists are in firm control of the justice system and the police.

Officials have insisted the canopy was part of the renovation work and suggested this was why it collapsed, but gave no explanation as to why.

The Novi Sad station was originally built in 1964, while the renovated station was inaugurated more than two years ago by President Aleksandar Vucic and his populist ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as a key stop for a planned fast rail line between Belgrade and Budapest.