Serbia marks anniversary of tragedy that sparked victorious student movement

The commemoration marked two years since a concrete canopy at the newly renovated railway station in Serbia's second-largest city collapsed, killing 16 people, including two sisters aged six and 10.

Amid nationwide grief and mounting questions over the station's multi-million-euro renovation, the disaster sparked some of Serbia's largest protests since the fall of strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

"It's hard to go back to the place where it all happened," Dijana Hrka, whose 27-year-old son Stefan was killed in the collapse, told AFP.

"And each time, it gets harder and harder," said Hrka, who burst into tears as she approached a heart-shaped banner bearing her son's name, one of 16 displayed outside the station in memory of the victims.

Crowds filed past for hours, laying flowers and lighting candles.

At 11:52 am (1052 GMT), the exact time the concrete canopy collapsed two years ago, those gathered observed 16 minutes of silence -- one for each victim.

"The emotions are indescribable," Danijela, a 50-year-old Novi Sad resident, told AFP through tears.

"I think everyone who comes here today will feel an energy that is a mixture of positive and negative emotions."

This year's anniversary falls just a week after the student movement swept to victory in snap elections, returning to the place that first spawned protests.

Students arrived after marching silently through rain-soaked Novi Sad carrying floral wreaths.

"There's something about this place. You can just feel the sadness in the air," said 18-year-old Simona Sapcic who travelled from the northern city of Subotica.

- 'Justice will be served' -

In a statement read during the commemoration, students said that "tragedy" was not enough to describe what happened two years ago.

"Tragedy describes an accident. But behind that word, one can cleverly conceal the word we are all looking for -- responsibility," they said.

Demands for a transparent investigation brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets and played a central role in the movement's election victory.

The student-backed list won around 140 seats in the 250-member parliament, enough to govern alone.

Hrka said she hoped the political upheaval in the country would accelerate investigations into the tragedy.

"I believe justice will be served. That's the only thing keeping me going right now -- knowing there will be justice," she said.

Since former president Aleksandar Vucic's party conceded defeat, the students have demanded progress in numerous corruption and high-profile murder probes, as well as fresh investigations into projects launched by the outgoing government.

The movement has also called for the heads of several key state agencies, including the police and intelligence services, to resign.

- Investigations -

Radovan Balac, 72, from Novi Sad came to the commemoration "with a feeling of sadness", but also "anger".

"Because court proceedings have still not begun to establish who is responsible for this crime," he added.

Several investigations into the Novi Sad tragedy are ongoing, but no trial has started.

Former construction minister Goran Vesic, who resigned days after the collapse, was charged in 2025 alongside 12 others with a serious crime against public safety.

Vesic is also a suspect in a separate corruption investigation into the project's finances, alongside another former minister, Tomislav Momirovic, and several others.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office is separately investigating possible misuse of EU funds linked to the renovation.

"If we manage to put them behind bars now, this will never happen again," Hrka said.

"I hope this was the last time we had to take to the streets in such numbers because of a tragedy. That's all I hope for," Stefan's mother said.