Serbia arrests 11 people over deadly awning collapse at train station

A erstwhile authorities curate was reportedly among 11 radical arrested successful Serbia connected Thursday implicit the deadly illness of a bid presumption awning earlier this period that killed 15 radical and severely injured 2 others.

The suspects, who person not been officially identified, look charges of committing transgression acts against nationalist security, causing nationalist information and irregular operation work, said prosecutors successful the bluish metropolis of Novi Sad, wherever the calamity occurred.

Meanwhile, section media reported that Goran Vesić, who resigned arsenic Serbia's operation curate aft the illness connected 1 November, and Jelena Tanasković, who this week stepped down arsenic acting manager of the state-run railway company, were among those arrested.

Vesić said connected Thursday successful a station connected Facebook that helium had not been arrested but had "voluntarily responded" to constabulary successful Novi Sad. Tanasković has not commented.

The arrests travel a question of protests demanding that those liable beryllium brought to justness and punished. Many successful Serbia judge that the illness of the awning supra the bid station's entranceway resulted from corruption and a deficiency of transparency, which led to substandard enactment successful renovating the presumption building, undertaken arsenic portion of a Serbian-Chinese partnership.

Opposition lawmakers and different protesters connected Wednesday scuffled with constabulary extracurricular the tribunal gathering successful Novi Sad for a 3rd consecutive day, demanding indictments implicit the calamity and the merchandise from detention of activists jailed during earlier rallies.

"Pressure and persistence person succeeded," Marinika Tepić, 1 of the leaders of the absorption Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP), wrote connected X connected Thursday. She said the arrests would not person happened without the efforts of the protesters successful caller days.

The protesters are besides demanding the work of the contracts signed with the 4 companies progressive successful the station's renovation: China Railway International, China Communications Construction, France's Egis and Hungary's Utiber.

Two engineers from Egis were reportedly among the 11 individuals arrested, according to section media. Egis could not instantly beryllium reached for remark connected the reports.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has not commented connected the arrests, but said that authorities had faced days of unit to "supposedly velocity up the enactment of the prosecutor's office."

"Our prosecutor's bureau has made decisions 100 times faster than successful developed EU countries erstwhile akin incidents occurred," Vučić said successful a video connection connected Thursday.

The bid presumption was built successful 1964 and renovated doubly successful caller years arsenic portion of a wider woody betwixt China, Serbia and Hungary to found a accelerated obstruction transportation betwixt Belgrade and Budapest. Serbian officials person offered conflicting accusation astir whether the awning was portion of the renovation, with its attraction present nether scrutiny.

The awning abruptly collapsed connected 1 November, falling connected radical sitting oregon strolling below. Initially, 14 radical died and 3 were severely injured, but 1 of the injured radical died on Sunday. Doctors are inactive moving to prevention the different 2 people, officials said.