At least 14 people have been killed after part of an outdoor roof collapsed at a train station in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, the country’s president has said.

The roof, which provided shade over benches near the station’s entrance, came crashing down early on Friday.

“We hope this will be the final number: 14 people have died. Of these, we have been unable to identify five individuals,” the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, said hours after the incident.

“We must all come together to support the families of those who lost their lives and do everything in our power to minimise the damage and help those who have lost their loved ones as much as possible,” he added in an address televised nationwide.

Vučić said a child aged six or seven was among the dead.

“Those responsible, I assure you will be punished,” the president added.

As the sun set in Novi Sad, people lit candles and laid flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims near the railway station and in the city’s main square.

“I am speechless,” Natasa Siladji told Radio Free Europe. “I can’t believe something like this could happen in my city.”

Earlier on Friday, the head of the city’s Vojvodina Clinic, Vesna Turkulov, told reporters that three people who had been pulled from the rubble were in a serious condition, two of whom were undergoing operations.

“The injuries are very severe,” she said.

Cranes and excavators worked alongside emergency responders digging through the rubble to search for the survivors, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.

“The operation is still ongoing and extremely challenging. More than 80 rescuers are involved, with the assistance of heavy machinery,” the interior minister, Ivica Dačić, said on Friday afternoon.

The Serbian government said an official day of mourning would be held on Saturday, according to a statement published by the country’s state broadcaster.

Serbian Railways said in a statement that the outdoor roof that collapsed had not been part of the renovations completed at the station. “Serbian Railways regrets the accident that occurred, and the causes and any new details from the investigation will be promptly announced,” the company wrote in a social media post.

A high-speed rail connection between Novi Sad and the capital, Belgrade, opened in March 2022.