The Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of Serbia, Goran Vesić, announces that he will resign in connection with the tragedy at the Novi Sad railway station. In turn, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic proposed organizing a referendum on his resignation.
– I do not accept blame for the death of 14 people, because neither I nor the people who work with me bear the slightest responsibility for this tragedy – said the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Serbia Goran Vesić at a press conference.
He explained that he would resign from his position “for moral reasons, because the tragedy occurred in the sector for which his ministry is responsible.”
Vesić noted that as minister, he “did not make a single decision that could affect the outcome of the project” to rebuild the railway station in Novi Sad, the capital of the autonomous region of Vojvodina in northern Serbia. The politician was questioned by the prosecutor's office in this city on Saturday.
Demonstrators protesting after the tragedy demanded Vesic's resignation. On Sunday, participants of the demonstration in Belgrade appealed in front of the headquarters of the government and the Ministry of Construction to hold those responsible for the tragedy accountable.
Their hands were painted with red paint, symbolizing the “blood on the hands” of those in power. The opposition in Novi Sad additionally demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister of Serbia, Milos Vuczevic, and the mayor of the city, Milan Djuric, who comes from the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which also governs at the central level.
Protest in SerbiaANDREJ CUKIC/PAP/EPA
Due to the tragedy, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic proposed on Monday to organize a referendum on his resignation. – We will ensure the majority in parliament needed to ask the people in a referendum about the resignation of Aleksandar Vucic. If the majority votes to resign, I will not be president one day longer and we will organize new elections, said the Serbian president. Vucic added that such elections could be called in January, March or May.
The causes of the roof collapse are being determined
The tragedy occurred on Friday afternoon. The station in Novi Sad was opened in July this year after a general renovation carried out by the Chinese consortium CRIC&CCCC (China Railway International Co.Ltd and China Communications Construction Company Ltd).
The Serbian State Railways, the Chinese company and Minister Vesić announced that the collapsed part of the roof was not the subject of recent reconstruction works. However, the engineer who worked on the station's renovation and the recordings obtained by the Serbian media contradict these claims.
The causes of the collapse of the concrete roof of the railway station are still unknown. The hospital where the three people injured in the accident were admitted announced on Monday that their condition was still very serious.
Main photo source: MARKO KAROVIC/EPA/PAP