Belgrade: Hundreds of protesters demand responsibility from the authorities for the incident in Novi Sad

Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure in Belgrade on Sunday to protest after the incident in Novi Sad that left 14 people dead and three fighting for their lives after a shelter collapsed. of concrete at the railway station.

The protesters are demanding the resignation of the head of the ministry, Goran Vesić, and demanding accountability from the Government for the incident.

Numerous police forces were seen in the protest area, which prevented the participants from approaching the buildings of state institutions.

Protesters were seen holding signs, "Crime, not tragedy" and "Corruption kills".

Some were even heard shouting "betrayal" and "resignation".

The protest started in Sava Square, in front of the old railway station in Belgrade, first with a minute of silence to honor the victims in Novi Sad and then continued with the reading of their names.

The protesters later walked towards the Ministry and later to the building of the Government of Serbia, in the center of Belgrade, from where they continued the protest.

As part of the protest, some participants painted their hands red and left evidence in front of the Government building, symbolically showing the authorities, as they say, that they have "bloody hands".

The cause of the collapse of the concrete shelter is not yet known.

On Saturday, the Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad interviewed 26 people related to the case, including Minister Vesić.

The main railway station building in Novi Sad was opened in July 2024, after three years of reconstruction.

The institution of Serbian railways said on the day of the incident that the concrete shelter that collapsed "was not rebuilt and was not part of the renovations".

However, experts declare that even that part has been subject to reconstruction.

The reconstruction works were carried out by a Chinese consortium.

The Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić, has vowed on Friday that there will be justice and has demanded harsh punishments for those responsible./ REL