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 when the accident happened 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.

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 published a photo on his official website of himself in a church with a candle, attending a memorial ceremony.

“Let the names of those killed be a reminder that human life is above any divisions (in society),” Vucic wrote. The government pronounced Nov. 1 a day of national mourning.