In silence and contemplation, at least tens of thousands of people launched a major day of demonstration on Saturday in tribute to the victims of the fatal accident at the Novi Sad station which occurred a year ago to the day, the spark of a protest movement which has shaken Serbia for twelve months.
Some of them arrived on Friday evening, the demonstrators began to observe 16 minutes of silence from 11:52 a.m. It was at this precise time that, on November 1, 2024, the concrete canopy of the newly renovated station collapsed, killing 14 people instantly, including two children. Two injured people died later, bringing the death toll to 16.
From the start of the morning, thousands of people came to leave flowers or candles in front of the station, whose torn concrete still recalls the accident. Like Svetlana, 45, from Pancevo, still overwhelmed by “great pain, great sadness”.
The collapse of the awning launched one of the largest protest movements in the country, with students quickly taking the lead. For opponents of right-wing nationalist President Aleksandar Vucic, he has become the emblem of the corruption which, according to them, is corrupting the immense public works projects launched across the country.
“All those who, in Serbia, are against corruption, crime, and the party in power” have met, explained, moved, Friday evening Ratko Popovic, 47, in the middle of thousands of other people who came to welcome the students arriving on foot from the four corners of the country.
The tragedy is “changing Serbia”
For several months, students have adopted these long marches as a means of action, hoping to reach as many towns and villages as possible to explain their demands and fight against the portrait painted of them by the media close to power by regularly describing them as “terrorists” paid by foreign powers.
Mostly peaceful, the demonstrations organized over the past year were punctuated this summer by violence between supporters of the president and demonstrators, several hundred of whom were arrested. Repression has hardened against the movement, prompting the European Parliament last week to adopt a resolution that “supports the right of Serbian students and citizens to peacefully demonstrate” and “strongly condemns state repression.”
On Saturday morning, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, affirmed on X that the tragedy of Novi Sad was “changing Serbia”. “She inspired the masses to mobilize for accountability, freedom of expression and inclusive democracy. These are the same values that will guide Serbia towards the European Union” to which Belgrade is a candidate, she wrote.
One year ago, the Novi Sad train station collapse took 16 lives.
We remember them today.
This tragedy is changing Serbia.
It moved masses to stand for accountability, free expression and inclusive democracy.
They are the same values to lead Serbia into the EU.
— Marta Kos (@MartaKosEU) November 1, 2025
While the demonstrators were gathered in Novi Sad, in Belgrade, about a hundred kilometers further south, the president and several ministers attended a ceremony in the Saint Sava basilica, in which several thousand of his supporters also took part who came to light candles and pay tribute to the victims.
“A year has passed. No one was held responsible”
In an address to the nation late Friday afternoon, after having for months accused students of wanting to overthrow him and of being paid to demonstrate, the president said he had “made comments (which he) regrets”. “I apologize,” added Aleksandar Vucic, calling for dialogue, without mentioning the early elections that demonstrators have been demanding for months.
In total, three investigations have been opened: one into the accident, another carried out by the public prosecutor’s office specializing in the fight against organized crime and corruption, into suspicions of corruption amounting to millions of euros in the renovation, and one carried out by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) relating to a possible embezzlement of European funds during the reconstruction.
In the first, the prosecution requested a trial in mid-September for 13 people, including two former ministers, but this is not enough for the demonstrators.
“A year has passed. No one was held responsible,” regrets Tomislav Savic, met on Saturday morning in Novi Sad. “Each demand from students, from citizens of our country, is met with blockages, silence or contempt. It’s difficult. But we hope that the culprits will be found.”