Twelve people have been arrested in connection with a roof collapse at a railway station earlier this month that killed at least 15 people in the city of Novi Sad, Serbian prosecutors said Thursday.
Novi Sad’s Higher Prosecutor’s Office said the suspects, who were not identified, were arrested on suspicion of committing criminal acts against public safety. One suspect remains at large. If convicted, they face up to 12 years in prison.
Fourteen people were killed on the day of the November 1 incident and three were injured, one of whom died Sunday.
Former Novi Sad Mayor Borislav Novakovic said the arrests should have happened sooner.
“For the past 20 days, all suspects could influence witnesses, tamper with evidence and alter documentation,” he told The Associated Press.
The deadly collapse sparked several rounds of protests, with demonstrators, joined by opposition leaders, taking to the streets with claims that government corruption and nepotism led to the roof’s shabby construction.
Opposition politicians have called for prosecutors of organized crime to handle the case, according to AP.
Other news outlets reported that ministers of transport, construction, infrastructure and trade, along with the head of state-run Serbian Railways, have resigned because of the incident.
Goran Vesic, the former construction minister, was reported by Serbian media to be among those detained. Vesic, however, posted on the X social media platform that he reported to authorities voluntarily.
The protesters who have clashed with police are calling for indictments in connection with the roof collapse and for the release of activists who were arrested in earlier demonstrations.
Serbia’s populist president, Aleksandar Vucic, has characterized the activists as “thugs and bullies,” and he has described the protests as “terror” and “brutal violence by certain political factors.”
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
