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Thousands turned out in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, on Sunday to remember those killed when a concrete canopy collapsed at its recently renovated railway station two years ago. The 16 dead included a pair of sisters, ages 6 and 10.
Public mourning, combined with doubts over the station’s multimillion-euro makeover, triggered the biggest demonstrations Serbia had seen since the 2000 ouster of strongman Slobodan Milosevic.
Just a week before the anniversary, the student-led movement born from those rallies swept the ruling party from office in snap elections.
Dijana Hrka, who lost her 27-year-old son Stefan in the disaster, broke down as she neared one of 16 heart-shaped banners hung outside the station, each carrying a victim’s name. “It’s hard to go back to the place where it all happened,” she told Agence France-Presse.
Mourners filed past for hours, leaving flowers and candles. At 11:52 a.m. local time (10:52 a.m. GMT), the moment the structure gave way, the crowd fell silent for 16 minutes, one for each life lost.
“The emotions are indescribable,” said Danijela, a 50-year-old resident, through tears.
Students arrived after a silent march through rain-soaked streets with floral wreaths.
“Tragedy describes an accident. But behind that word, one can cleverly conceal the word we are all looking for: responsibility,” they said in a statement read at the ceremony.
Calls for a transparent investigation drew hundreds of thousands to the streets and helped the movement win roughly 140 of parliament’s 250 seats, enough to rule alone. Students now seek progress in corruption and murder cases, plus the resignation of police and intelligence chiefs.
Radovan Balac, 72, voiced anger that no trial has yet begun. Former Construction Minister Goran Vesic, who quit shortly after the collapse, faced charges in 2025 with 12 others and also figures in a separate graft probe, while the European Public Prosecutor’s Office examines possible misuse of European Union funds.
Hrka voiced hope that the political shift would speed up efforts to hold those responsible to account. “If we manage to put them behind bars now, this will never happen again,” she said.
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