Around 140,000 rally in Belgrade ratcheting up calls for elections

The rally was one of the largest in over half a year student-led actions, which began in November after the roof of a train station collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people -- a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption.

Earlier on Saturday, a sea of protesters filled Belgrade's largest square and poured into several surrounding streets.

The Independent Protest Monitor, Archive of Public Gatherings, estimated the crowd size at around 140,000, significantly higher than the police estimate of 36,000.