Thousands gathered in the rain in Novi Sad on Sunday to mark the second anniversary of the railway station canopy collapse that killed 16 people and sparked the anti-government movement which ousted Serbia’s ruling right-wing party a week ago.
The commemoration took place outside the recently renovated station in Serbia’s second-largest city, where a concrete canopy fell and killed 16 people, including two sisters aged six and 10.
The disaster, which unfolded amid national mourning and mounting questions over a renovation project worth several million euros, triggered some of the biggest protests in Serbia since the fall of former Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.
Related News
- Multilingualism in Belgium: What happens in our brains when we switch languages?
- Home from home: How does the EU bubble really feel about Belgium?
- The 'word of mouth' club bringing Brussels' Bulgarian community together
Outside the station, hearts bearing the names of the victims were laid out as dozens of people placed flowers and lit candles.
This year’s anniversary came just a week after snap parliamentary elections, won by the student-led movement that emerged from the protests and has now returned to the site where the first demonstrations began.
Several investigations into the Novi Sad tragedy are under way, but no trial has yet started.
Former construction minister Goran Vesic, who resigned days after the collapse, was charged in 2025 along with 12 others with a serious offence against public safety.
He is also a suspect in a separate corruption investigation into the financing of the renovation project, alongside, among others, another former minister, Tomislav Momirovic.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is conducting a separate investigation into the possible misuse of European Union funds linked to the renovation.
