Tragedy of Novi Sad. Fall of the train station canopy. Part 1

Novi Sad, 1st November 2024. 11:52AM CET

Few hundred tons of concrete fall immediately killing 14 people and injuring 3 seemingly out of nowhere. Why, how, who, where? Here's what happened, I'll try explaining to the best of my ability. 

Since there is really a lot of stuff to mention, I'll be breaking this into two separate blogs. This one is focusing on the fall in itself, and the second one will talk about the protests and happenings that followed it.

The station building was constructed in 1964, and was renovated from 2021 to mid 2024 with support from China's Belt and Road Initiative. The project included a total reconstruction of the railway platforms, including the platform underpass and canopy, as well as renovations to the floors, walls, and the roof of the station building, including the replacement of the building's facade materials.

The leading political party with the president Aleksandar Vučić built its whole campaign on saying how he'll modernise Serbia, how he'll make this country a better place "For our kids!". That includes making new roads, railways, apartment complexes etc. This reconstruction would be "proof" of Serbia being an "Economic Tiger" and a mark of modernisation.

Now, according to CIP's ( Traffic Institute CIP) technical document, the station building was "in good condition constructionally, and no damage affecting the stability of the structure was observed through visual inspection" prior to the start of works. So why did we spend billions on the reconstruction? The answer is quite simple. Moneywashing. It's the reason Belgrade is absolutely demolished. They take millions to build stuff we don't need just so they could keep half the money to themselves. For an example, if they need 3 million to build something, they'll take 5 million, use only 2 million, and keep the remaining 3 millions to themselves. Easy money.

Investigations and reporting point to several red flags, so in January 2024, the local news outlet Portal 021 requested contracts and invoices related to the renovation project from the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure and Serbian Railways Infrastructure. This request was denied, as CRIC-CCCC (China Railway International Co. and China Communications Construction Company) objected to sharing contract details with third parties until the project's completion and confirmation of satisfactory work. In other words, if things went to shit, they don't want the blame. 

Now, why does Vučić like working with the Chinese so much? The answer is quite logical. Chinese policy banks like the Export-Import Bank of China provide large loans with fewer political conditions than many Western lenders. For Serbia this means:

Faster project approval.

Large capital availability.

In other words, Vučić doesnt have to tell anyone how much money goes into what and how much of goes where like he would have to if he was in the EU for an example. Critics (including some economists and civil society groups) argue:

Loan terms may increase public debt

Limited transparency

Reduced competition in contracts

Potential governance risks

Supporters argue the projects modernize infrastructure faster than alternatives.

During the reconstruction, many people pointed out how the whole site was unsafe, unlabeled and just unpractical. But of course, no one listened. 

Untill it fell. Over a 100 metres long, over 300 tons heavy. It fell onto 17 people. It Instantly killed 14, injured 3, of which 2 passed in the following months due to the extent of their injuries. The sole survivor is a girl that was a med student, a young mom, a very beloved daughter. She lost half of her body.

As I'm writing this, more than a year later, no one has been held responsible for those deaths. Here are the names of the victims, as we should never forget them.

• Sara Firić, 6 years old.
• Valentina Firić, 10 years old.
• Đorđe Firić, 53 years old.
• Milica Adamović , 16 years old.
• Nemanja Komar, 17 years old.
• Anđela Ruman, 20 years old.
• Miloš Milosavljević, 21 years old.
• Stefan Hrka, 27 years old.
• Sanja Ćirić Arbutina, 35 years old.
• Goranka Raca, 58 years old.
• Vukašin Raković, 69 years old.
• Mileva Karanović, 76 years old.
• Đuro Švonja, 77 years old.
• Vasko Sazdovski, 45 years old.
• Anja Radonić, 24 years old.
• Vukašin Crnčević, 18 years old.

May they rest in peace.

The Novi Sad Higher Public Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation. More than 40 people, including construction minister Goran Vesić, were subjected to questioning. At least 11 people were allegedly arrested or brought in to the prosecutor’s office by the police, including Vesić, who said that he had voluntarily surrendered.  On 30 December 2024, Vesić and 12 others were formally indicted over the collapse. On 24 December 2025, the Novi Sad High Court dropped charges against Vesić and five other defendants over the collapse, citing insufficient evidence.

After the collapse, many people on social media condemned the government for negligence. The main points were claims by Serbian Railways Infrastructure that the canopy had not been reconstructed. 

Another point of controversy was the refusal of CRIC-CCCC to share documentation of the reconstruction publicly. So we started protesting. (Focusing on that in Part 2) 

When the president saw what was happening, he said on the 11th of December 2024. that he will publicise all documents related to the disaster. Which he hasn't, still. 

On 28th January 2025, Miloš Vučević resigned as prime minister following an incident in which four ruling party supporters, including associates of his son, assaulted a female student in Novi Sad, breaking her jaw.

As the protests grew bigger and bigger, Vučić began sending his people, that was mostly police and people under masks with bats he payed, to beat, provocate, and worst of all, arrest. Lots of innocent people had been arrested just for being on the streets. So we blocked school, we blocked traffic. At 11:52 everything had to stop, first for 14 minutes, then for 15, then for 16, as the numbers of the victims grew. Our terms were simple. Release the documents, release the students, hold yourself accountable. Of course, nothing of that really happened. 

What started as peaceful protests turned into something like riots. The police would throw pyrotechnics and pepper spray at us, they would beat men, women, children, anyone that was close enough. There was a point when I was scared to leave my home, streets I passed everyday now like a war zone. 

As the new school year in 2025 came closer, the protests died out. They're now very rare, because we can't have them peacefully as we want to.

!This blog isnt meant to be any kind of attack on conservative or right wing people. It is simply factually what happened!

I hoped I explained this well. I think its t's really important that people know what happened. That being said, if there's any questions, I'm willing to answer them. Thanks for reading!