Exactly one month ago, on February 12, around 12 noon, a terrible tram accident took place in Sarajevo in which 23-year-old Erdoan Morankic was killed.
The tragedy that shook the public triggered mass protests, led to the fall of the Sarajevo Canton Government and raised questions about the safety of public transport.
Unfortunately, even a month later, there are no final answers about the cause of the accident and responsibility.
The KS Prosecutor’s Office has been emphasizing for a month that this case is a priority in their work, but the public does not have that impression, especially after the fiasco at the detention hearing, the non-hearing of the director of GRAS in the first days after the accident, the slow withdrawal of video surveillance footage from the US Embassy…
The accident on February 12th occurred when the tram derailed at Marijin Dvor, near the National Museum. In the accident, 23-year-old student Erdoan Morankić was killed, while several people were injured, including minor Ella Jovanović (17), who lost her leg.
Already on the first day after the accident, spontaneous gatherings of citizens and students began, demanding the responsibility of the competent institutions and safer public transportation. The protests quickly turned into mass gatherings where demonstrators blocked certain roads in the center of Sarajevo and demanded the resignation of political and management structures in the public transport system.
Among the key demands of the demonstrators were an independent and transparent investigation of the accident, the publication of information on the technical condition of the tram, and the withdrawal of the oldest vehicles from traffic.
Political consequences followed very quickly. Just a few days after the accident, the Prime Minister of the Sarajevo Canton, Nihad Uk, resigned, bringing down the KS Government. In the following days, the director of GRAS, Senad Mujagić, also resigned, but his resignation was not accepted by the Supervisory Board of that public company.
Nevertheless, the issue of public transport safety has become a central political issue in Sarajevo.
However, even after a month, the accident investigation did not provide key answers. The tram driver was the subject of an investigation on suspicion of endangering public safety, but the court did not order detention at the suggestion of the KS Prosecutor’s Office.
During the past weeks, different information appeared about the possible causes of the accident. Human error as well as technical problems on the tram or infrastructure are potentially possible.
Additional controversies were caused by information that video surveillance footage from this particular tram did not exist, which caused doubts and additional demands for the transparency of the investigation.
Protests by citizens and students continued during February and early March, although with less intensity than in the first days after the tragedy. The organizers said that they will not give up until full responsibility for the accident is determined.
A month after the tragedy, Sarajevo is still without a clear answer to the key question – whether the accident was caused by human error, technical failure or a combination of several factors, and who will bear the responsibility for the death of the young student and serious injuries to Ella Jovanović, writes Klix.
