Four witnesses were heard in the case of the falling canopy in Novi Sad

We transmit the announcement in its entirety:

"On the occasion of the tragic event that took place on November 1, 2024, in Novi Sad, when the canopy of the railway station building in Novi Sad collapsed, in which fifteen people lost their lives and in which two people were seriously injured, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad informs the public that, as part of the investigation carried out according to the Order passed on November 22, 2024, against a total of thirteen suspects On December 2, 2024, four persons employed in the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure were examined as witnesses, while the examination of five witnesses, employed by Ifrastructure of Serbia a.d., was scheduled for today.

Moreover, the public is informed that in order to provide all the necessary evidence for the conduct of criminal proceedings, and within the framework of the pre-investigation procedure, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, had issued an Order to carry out a construction expert opinion, which Order determined the cause of the demolition of the canopy of the station building of the Railway Station in Novi Sad.

For the purposes of construction expertise and further provision of evidence, and in order to examine the quality of built-in elements and materials, as part of the pre-investigation procedure, material sampling of the construction remains of the demolished canopy was carried out, and they are adequately preserved.

Excluded samples of construction material were the subject of geometric and mechanical expertise, which was entrusted and carried out by the Institute for Material Testing - IMS from Belgrade, by order of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad.

After all the tests of the materials and the completion of the construction expertise, which was carried out on November 20, 2024, delivered to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office, the conditions were created for the next phase of the criminal proceedings and the adoption of the Order on Conducting the Investigation, while the remaining construction remains of the demolished canopy are located at a location that is still secured by the police.

"In the further course of the investigation, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad continues to undertake evidentiary actions by directly examining witnesses and experts, while subsequent procedural decisions will be made in accordance with the law, about which the public will be informed in a timely and regular manner," the prosecution stated.