They packed up food, water and extra clothes and set off. Hundreds of Serbian university students on Thursday started an 80-kilometer (50-mile) march toward the northern city of Novi Sad, the latest endeavor in their widening protest movement over a deadly overhang collapse in November that killed 15 people.

Hundreds of students set off on a protest march of some 90 kilometers from Belgrade to the northern city of Novi Sad on January 30. The demonstrations come amid months of anti-government protests following a deadly infrastructure collapse in Novi Sad in November 2024.

With this energy and mood I hope we can do it, otherwise there will be no brighter future,” said Luka Arsenovic, another student marcher. Many in Serbia believe that the collapse of the overhang at the train station was essentially caused by government corruption in a large infrastructure project with Chinese state companies.

The protests began after an attack on drama students on January 24 by pro-government thugs during a daily 15-minute commemoration for victims of a deadly overhang collapse in November that killed 15 people.