Ex Construction Minister Vesic, 12 Other Individuals Indicted for Canopy Collapse at Novi Sad Railway Station

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad (Photo; novisad.vjt.rs)

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad on Sept. 16 said it had brought charges against 13 people for the fatal collapse of a concrete canopy at the city’s Railway Station in November last year, including Goran Vesic, the former construction, transport and infrastructure minister.

The Prosecutor’s Office said that all were facing charges for serious crimes against general security and that the crimes contained in the indictment were substantiated by the collected evidence.  

The indictees are charged with enabling the use of the railway station building in Novi Sad without the issuance of a final acceptance certificate and during construction works, non-maintenance of the structure in question, and crimes committed during the design phase and work execution under the station building renovation project, according to the prosecution. 

Aside from Vesic, other persons indicted include Jelena Tanaskovic, the former acting general manager of national railway infrastructure manager Infrastruktura Zeleznice Srbije, Anita Dimoski, the former acting assistant minister of construction, transport and infrastructure, and Nebojsa Surlan, the former general manager of Infrastruktura Zeleznice Srbije. 

Also charged are the responsible designer of the structure, the lead designer of Preliminary Design, the lead designer of Design for Building Permit, the rapporteur to the Republic Audit Commission, the person responsible for technical review of Design for Building Permit, and the persons responsible for the execution and supervision of construction works.