Eleven people have been arrested in Serbia in connection with a roof collapse early this month at a train station in the northern city of Novi Sad that killed 15 people and severely injured two others, prosecutors said Thursday.
The suspects, who have not been identified, face charges of committing criminal acts against public security, causing public danger and irregular construction work, the Higher Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad said in a statement.
Serbian media reported that Goran Vesic, who resigned as construction minister after the collapse, was among those detained.
The arrests came after a wave of protests erupted over the tragedy demanding that those responsible be brought to justice and punished. Many in Serbia believe that the roof crash was the result of rampant corruption and lack of transparency that led to sloppy work in the renovation of the station building.
Opposition lawmakers and other protesters on Wednesday scuffled with police outside the court building in Novi Sad for a third day in a row, demanding indictments over the roof collapse and the release from detention of activists who were jailed during earlier rallies.
The railway station building in Novi Sad was originally built in 1964. It was renovated twice in recent years as part of a wider infrastructure deal with Chinese state companies.
The huge roof suddenly crashed on Nov. 1, falling on the people sitting or strolling below. Initially, 14 people died and three were severely injured, but one of the injured people died on Sunday.
