A concrete roof above the entrance of a railway station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad collapsed on Friday, killing at least 13 people with more feared buried under the rubble.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that three people were rescued and admitted to hospital with serious injuries and that he did not expect the death toll to rise much further.
“When we had eight victims, we knew that there were five more people under the rubble for whom we could not establish whether they were alive or dead,” Mr Dacic told reporters.
“Death occurred on the spot,” he added.
Ambulances and other emergency teams were sent to the central station and bulldozers were removing the debris as people looked for survivors.
Some 80 rescuers were at the scene as heavy machinery removed large parts of the rubble.
Surveillance camera footage showed people moving in and out of the building and sitting on benches as the concrete structure suddenly collapsed on them.
Mr Dacic said the rescue operation was “extremely hard” and that it would last for at least several more hours.
Serbia’s government declared November 2 a day of mourning.
Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic said “this is a black Friday for us, for all of Serbia”.
Mr Vucevic said that the roof was built in 1964 and an investigation is under way to determine what happened and who is responsible for the tragedy.
Serbia’s state railway company said the accident happened at 11.50am local time.
The company said the structure above the station entrance was not touched during the recent renovation.
