Serb court extends detention of 12 suspects over station collapse
BELGRADE, Serbia (AFP) – A Serbian court said on Saturday it had ordered 10 people, including an ex-minister, be detained for up to 30 days and two placed under house arrest over a fatal train station accident.
Fifteen people died when a concrete roof collapsed at the station in Novi Sad on November 1, following extensive renovation work at the facility.
Public outrage over the tragedy has sparked regular nationwide protests, with many blaming the deaths on corruption and inadequate oversight of construction projects.
Former Construction Minister Goran Vesic and a former director of Serbian Railway Infrastructure, Nebojsa Surlan, are suspected of “a criminal offence against public safety”, the Higher Court in the northern city said.
Eight other suspects have been charged with a serious violation of public safety due to improper construction work and been detained over concerns of witness tampering and public disturbance.
The former acting general-director of Serbia Railway Infrastructure, Jelena Tanaskovic, and another suspect have been placed under house arrest with electronic surveillance for three months, RTS state broadcaster reported.
Tanaskovic resigned after the accident.
Serbian authorities initially arrested 12 people, including Vesic, in connection with the roof collapse.
Vesic, who stepped down three days after it occurred, later denied that he had been arrested, writing on Facebook that he had “voluntarily responded” to police.
The opposition welcomed the arrests.
Protesters are demanding the resignation of the prime minister and the Novi Sad mayor, and want those found responsible prosecuted.
But President Aleksandar Vucic has said there will be no further political resignations.
In addition to Vesic and Tanaskovic, Trade Minister Tomislav Momirovic, who served as construction minister from 2020 to 2022, has also stepped down.
Protesters and the opposition have demanded that the government publish the contracts it signed with the firms involved in renovating the station.
A consortium of four companies — China Railway International and China Communications Construction, France’s Egis, and Hungary’s Utiber — were in charge of the works.
The renovations were completed just a few weeks before the roof collapsed.
Fourteen people, aged between six and 74, were killed at the scene and a 15th died in hospital on Sunday.
