STORY: Tens of thousands of people came to Novi Sad on Saturday (November 1) to remember 16 people killed when a renovated railway roof collapsed one year ago.

At exactly 11:52 a.m. local (1052 GMT), the time of the accident on November 1 2024, they held 16 minutes of silence to commemorate every single victim.

They then filed past the station entrance to lay flowers and light candles.

One of the main boulevards in Novi Sad, Serbia's second largest city, was packed with people who arrived by cars, buses and motorcycles.

Protesters held up large red hearts bearing the names of the collapse victims, clutched white flowers and laid wreaths in front of the railway station.

One mother, Dijana Hrka, who lost her only child in the accident, collapsed in tears as she lay flowers in front of the station.

Thousands of students walked up to 400 kilometres from their hometowns to protest at the government which they blame for the accident saying the shoddy construction of the roof was due to corruption and nepotism.

Government officials have denied such accusations.

Recently, President Aleksandar Vučić and parliament speaker Ana Brnabic, an ex-prime minister, said the roof collapse could have been an act of terrorism, a stance that infuriated critics of the government.

The tragedy touched off a largely peaceful, nationwide protest movement led by university students and professors that has shaken Vucic's 13-year grip on power.

Vucic, in an Instagram post, published a photo of himself in a church holding a candle at a commemoration ceremony in the capital Belgrade for the victims of the disaster.

"Let the names of those killed be a reminder that human life is above any divisions (in society)," Vucic wrote.

He said the government had designated November 1 as a day of national mourning.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: NOVI SAD, SERBIA (NOVEMBER 1, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF PEOPLE GATHERING OUTSIDE RAILWAY STATION TO OBSERVE MINUTE OF SILENCE, MARKING THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF ROOF COLLAPSE THAT KILLED 16 PEOPLE

2. VARIOUS TOP VIEW OF PEOPLE STANDING IN SILENCE

3. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE OBSERVING 16 MINUTES OF SILENCE FOR VICTIMS OF RAILWAY ROOF COLLAPSE

4. TOP VIEW OF CROWD OBSERVING MINUTE OF SILENCE

5. PEOPLE OUTSIDE RAILWAY STATION STANDING IN SILENCES

6. FLOWERS AND CANDLES

7. PEOPLE OBSERVING MINUTE OF SILENCE

8. DRONE SHOT OF CROWDS, PEOPLE APPLAUDING AFTER MINUTE OF SILENCE

8. CROWDS APPLAUDING

9. PEOPLE GATHERING AT MEMORIAL OUTSIDE RAILWAY STATION

10. DIJANA HRKA, WHO LOST HER ONLY CHILD IN ROOF COLLAPSE WALKING TOWARDS MEMORIAL, CROUCHING AND CRYING (AUDIO OF SONG)

11. VARIOUS OF DRONE SHOTS OF MEMORIAL OUTSIDE RAILWAY STATION (AUDIO OF SONG)

12. HRKA LAYING FLOWERS, CRYING (AUDIO OF SONG)

13. DRONE SHOT OF PEOPLE WALKING AT MEMORIAL TO LAY FLOWERS

14. PEOPLE LAYING FLOWERS AND LIGHTING CANDLES

15. (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) 51-YEAR-OLD ECONOMIST FROM VALJEVO, SLADJANA BURMAZ, SAYING:

"These people did not die by accident - it is the consequence of a bad system and bad politics. This is the least contribution we, as individuals, can make. We came even though we are not anywhere near Novi Sad, but in any case, that is not measured in kilometres or anything else - it is simply empathy toward these people who died, toward the families who lost their loved ones."

16. (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) DEMONSTRATOR FROM SRBONBRAN, ZELJKO BOGOVIC, SAYING:

"We came today, on the anniversary of this tragic event, to pay tribute with 16 minutes of silence to the innocent victims who died because of others' negligence, corruption, hooliganism, malice, and everything else that makes a human being inhuman. We came to express that small part of what we feel deep in our souls - something very terrible, very sad, and I do not even know how else to describe it."

17. (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) DEMONSTRATOR, MILOS DUKOVIC, SAYING:

"A year has passed, and we still do not have anyone held accountable for what happened. It is sad. That is all."

18. PEOPLE LAYING FLOWERS

19. DRONE SHOT OF PEOPLE LAYING FLOWERS

20. DRONE SHOT OF CROWDS GATHERED NEAR RAILWAY STATION