Club in Belgrade is sinking in the water – Swiss Ana T. right in the middle
“I was afraid for my life”
For Ana T. (18) from Zurich and her friends, a New Year’s Eve party in Serbia ended with a shock. The group was in Belgrade in a bar built on stilts in the river. Shortly after midnight, however, the club began to decline at a rapid pace!
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The affected club has sunk further and further into the river.
This New Year’s Eve celebration fell through! Just after midnight, the stilted nightclub Freestyler in the Serbian capital of Belgrade began sinking into the Sava River. Right in the middle: Zurich KV Foundation Ana T.* (18) with her partner and friends. “Panic broke out immediately, fortunately nobody was seriously injured,” said the young woman on the phone the day after Blick.
At the time of the accident, around ten minutes after the turn of the year, the club was full. “There were a lot of Swiss and Swiss-Serbs here,” says Ana T. The atmosphere was good until suddenly a jolt went through the bar. “I didn’t understand what was going on. Someone shouted knife, knife and everyone rushed towards the exit. The club’s employees were the first to disappear,” says T.
“This is how it must have felt on the Titanic”
When she noticed that her feet were in the water and that the slope of the ground was increasing, it dawned on her that a knife attack wasn’t the cause of the panic. But that the place goes down! “Everyone just looked for themselves and pushed with all their might towards the exit. I was really scared for my life and lost my friends quickly. That’s how it must have felt on the Titanic!», says the Swiss.
It is only on the bank that it becomes clear what exactly happened: the rear part of the Stelzen restaurant collapsed and sank into the river. Only the entrance area, which is connected to the shore by a footbridge, still protrudes from the water, as can be seen in the photos.
Were there too many people in the restaurant?
According to Serbian media reports, there were a few minor injuries – fortunately, everyone in the Zurich woman’s group remained unscathed. But: The party is over after the incident. “It was freezing outside, we stood there without jackets and froze.”
There is no official information about the cause of the accident. Local media quote police sources as saying the Floss Club was overloaded. According to the Swiss group, there was a rumor that the incident could be related to a fire that is said to have occurred a few days before the accident. (sac)
*Name changed