Novi Sad canopy collapse: two years on, no trial begins
Students gather from 9:30 a.m., the memorial outside the station starts at 11:52, and none of the three canopy cases has reached trial after two years.
Novi Sad marks the second anniversary of the Railway Station canopy collapse today, November 1, 2026, with a memorial gathering outside the station set for 11:52, the exact minute the concrete structure came down on November 1, 2024. The student movement has called people to gather, Patriarch Porfirije is holding a memorial service in Belgrade, and in the three cases opened over the tragedy no trial has started after two years. We published the walking route yesterday, and this is where things stand on the anniversary itself.
What is planned in Novi Sad today?
The organizers, students in blockade, have scheduled the gathering from 9:30 a.m. at three points: by the Faculty of Medicine, in Liman Park and at the approach to the Varadin (Rainbow) Bridge. The columns set off at 10 a.m., merge at the Futog Market and walk together to the Railway Station. The memorial outside the station begins at 11:52 with 16 minutes of silence.
In a call posted on social media, the students wrote:
“Students invite you to attend, on Sunday, November 1, a commemorative gathering dedicated to the victims of the canopy collapse at the Railway Station in Novi Sad. Let us preserve the memory of the dead together.”
The organizers asked that no flags, badges or banners be brought to the gathering. Patriarch Porfirije is meanwhile leading a memorial service for the victims at the Church of Saint Sava in Vracar, with the liturgy starting at 9 a.m.
What happened on November 1, 2024?
The canopy fell at 11:52 and 14 people died at the scene. Anja Radonjic (24) died in hospital on November 17, 2024, and Vukasin Crncevic (18) on March 21, 2025, bringing the total to 16 victims. Teodora Martinko survived with severe injuries.
Where do the three cases stand after two years?
The case is split among three prosecutor’s offices, and in none of them has a trial begun:
- The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad indicted 13 people, among them former Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic, his assistant Anita Dimoski, and former directors of “Infrastructure of Serbian Railways” Jelena Tanaskovic and Nebojsa Surlan. The Court of Appeal in Novi Sad confirmed the indictment.
- The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade indicted three people, including a development manager at “Infrastructure of Serbian Railways” and the chair of the commission for the station’s technical inspection. The Court of Appeal in Belgrade has overturned that indictment three times, amid a dispute over which prosecutor’s office has jurisdiction.
- The Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office is still at the investigation stage. The inquiry covers Vesic, Dimoski, Tanaskovic, Surlan and former minister Tomislav Momirovic, and relates to suspected malfeasance on the high-speed railway from Novi Sad to Kelebija. The suspects are accused of causing 115 million dollars in damage to the state budget.
The Novi Sad case is stalled because its files are at the Supreme Court of Serbia, which is deciding on motions from the defendants’ lawyers for a review of legality. According to the news agency Beta, no preparatory hearing has been scheduled for that reason, and Beta attributes the announcement to the Novi Sad higher public prosecutor’s office, which made it on Friday. Telegraf and N1 report that the statement came from the Higher Court in Novi Sad on October 30. The sources thus differ on who made the announcement, but agree on the substance: until the Supreme Court rules, there is no hearing.
According to the indictment, the canopy fell because of corrosion at the joint between the tie rod and the roof beam, and because added elements overloaded the structure. That is the prosecution’s thesis, and a court has yet to rule on it.
Two years on, no one has been held responsible by a final verdict for the collapse of the canopy.
