Serbian security forces reportedly used a military-style sonic weapon to shut down a massive peaceful anti-corruption demonstration last weekend.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched on Saturday, March 15 in Serbia’s capital Belgrade to protest the deaths of 15 people in the collapse of a train station roof on November 1.

The tragedy has sparked daily demonstrations, with crowds of citizens denouncing the government for rampant corruption and holding it responsible for the accident.

Footage from Saturday’s demonstration shows people standing during a 15-minute silence in honor of the train station victims, when a sudden piercing sound causes panic.

Protesters are seen quickly moving away from the street and running down the sidewalks while simultaneously bumping into each other.

What causes the sonic weapon

Those exposed to the gun experience both ear pain, disorientation and panic, safety experts say.

Prolonged exposure can cause ruptured eardrums and irreversible hearing damage.

Many have complained on social media of severe headaches, nausea and disorientation.

The noise, which caused the crowd to disperse, sounded like “a plane landing from the direction of the presidency building,” said one protester, Dushan Simin.

“We couldn’t get away from it, we didn’t know what to do. People must have instinctively thought something was coming down the road, so they started running to the side and we all ran into each other,” he added.