Serbian Official Steps Down Following Fatalities at Train Station
Serbian Infrastructure Minister Goran Vesic has stepped down following the tragic incident at the Novi Sad train station, where 14 individuals lost their lives as a result of being crushed. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Goran Vesic, Serbia’s Minister of Transportation, Construction, and Infrastructure, has resigned following a tragic incident in Novi Sad last week, where 14 people lost their lives due to the sudden collapse of a railway station canopy.
The concrete canopy was originally designed in 1964, but recent renovations had taken place as part of a project aimed at constructing a high-speed rail link to the Hungarian border. The Chinese contractor involved in the project stated that it did not handle any work related to the canopy.
On Monday, Vesic informed reporters in Belgrade that he had submitted his resignation to President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday, shortly after the incident, but chose to wait until the conclusion of a three-day mourning period to make his announcement.
“I will officially tender my resignation to the president tomorrow,” Vesic said.
Despite his resignation, Vesic maintained that he and his department were not at fault for the collapse, emphasizing that they had no means to oversee or regulate the quality of construction work.
“I call on the authorities, most of all the prosecutors, to establish as soon as possible who is responsible for this horrible accident and who among the planners, contractors, supervisors and investors caused the deaths of 14 innocent people,” Vesic stated.
He elaborated that a Chinese consortium was contracted for the project, with two foreign companies overseeing the supervision, while Serbian Railways’ infrastructure branch served as the primary investor. The contract for the station's reconstruction was signed in 2018, but it wasn’t until 2021 that a construction permit was obtained. Vesic took on his current role in October 2022.
According to him, the design scope of the project did not include the canopy. However, some local authorities and opposition figures alleged that a new glass and steel cover might have placed excessive stress on the original 1960s structure, which was supported by a series of steel cables.
These cables failed on Friday just before noon, resulting in the tragedy that affected 17 individuals sitting or walking beneath it. Three survivors remain hospitalized in critical condition, and among the deceased were children.
In response to the tragedy, pro-Western opposition activists have called for the resignation of the entire Progressive government and a new election.
In his resignation remarks, Vesic criticized “those who try to use any tragedy, who think that every death is their chance to get into power.”
The Novi Sad station, constructed in 1964, was a modernist project by architect Imre Farkash and was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. After the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the 1999 NATO bombing, which damaged rail and road bridges across the Danube in Novi Sad, the station fell into disrepair. Its reconstruction is part of a broader effort related to the Belgrade-Budapest high-speed rail project, which has been touted by Vucic and his government as a significant achievement.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
The concrete canopy was originally designed in 1964, but recent renovations had taken place as part of a project aimed at constructing a high-speed rail link to the Hungarian border. The Chinese contractor involved in the project stated that it did not handle any work related to the canopy.
On Monday, Vesic informed reporters in Belgrade that he had submitted his resignation to President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday, shortly after the incident, but chose to wait until the conclusion of a three-day mourning period to make his announcement.
“I will officially tender my resignation to the president tomorrow,” Vesic said.
Despite his resignation, Vesic maintained that he and his department were not at fault for the collapse, emphasizing that they had no means to oversee or regulate the quality of construction work.
“I call on the authorities, most of all the prosecutors, to establish as soon as possible who is responsible for this horrible accident and who among the planners, contractors, supervisors and investors caused the deaths of 14 innocent people,” Vesic stated.
He elaborated that a Chinese consortium was contracted for the project, with two foreign companies overseeing the supervision, while Serbian Railways’ infrastructure branch served as the primary investor. The contract for the station's reconstruction was signed in 2018, but it wasn’t until 2021 that a construction permit was obtained. Vesic took on his current role in October 2022.
According to him, the design scope of the project did not include the canopy. However, some local authorities and opposition figures alleged that a new glass and steel cover might have placed excessive stress on the original 1960s structure, which was supported by a series of steel cables.
These cables failed on Friday just before noon, resulting in the tragedy that affected 17 individuals sitting or walking beneath it. Three survivors remain hospitalized in critical condition, and among the deceased were children.
In response to the tragedy, pro-Western opposition activists have called for the resignation of the entire Progressive government and a new election.
In his resignation remarks, Vesic criticized “those who try to use any tragedy, who think that every death is their chance to get into power.”
The Novi Sad station, constructed in 1964, was a modernist project by architect Imre Farkash and was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. After the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the 1999 NATO bombing, which damaged rail and road bridges across the Danube in Novi Sad, the station fell into disrepair. Its reconstruction is part of a broader effort related to the Belgrade-Budapest high-speed rail project, which has been touted by Vucic and his government as a significant achievement.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
