Kosutnjak Park: Tree Falls on Gazebo, Four Injured

An old tree cracked and collapsed onto a wooden gazebo in Belgrade’s Kosutnjak park on Saturday, September 5, around 5 p.m. A large group of picnickers was underneath the gazebo at the time. According to the outlets that first reported the incident, the group was celebrating a young man’s birthday.

Telegraf, Kurir and Mondo all report that the tree was old and snapped suddenly, without warning. Its crown and trunk came down directly onto the roof of the gazebo, a wooden structure of the kind commonly used in Kosutnjak as a resting and gathering spot for visitors. Several people were left trapped under the trunk and the collapsed structure.

Picnickers who were not hurt began pulling out family members and friends from under the tree themselves, before ambulances arrived. All three outlets note that this first aid from bystanders on the scene proved crucial while emergency crews were still on their way.

Emergency medical teams took four injured people to the Emergency Center in Belgrade, the city’s main facility for treating the most serious injuries and illnesses. According to unofficial information, one of the injured sustained a serious back injury. No further details have emerged so far about the severity of the other injuries or the condition of the remaining victims.

All three sources agree on every detail of the incident: the time the tree fell, the number of injured, and the fact that the celebration was taking place inside the enclosed wooden gazebo rather than in the open area of the park. None of the outlets report the exact number of people who were inside the gazebo when the tree fell, nor the name of the birthday celebrant.

None of the three outlets has published the names or ages of the injured picnickers so far. It is also unknown whether any of them are minors, or whether the person whose birthday was being celebrated that afternoon is among the injured.

Why did the tree fall?

There is no answer to that question yet. None of the sources say whether the tree was diseased or damaged, or whether it had previously been inspected and assessed as safe by the relevant service. Kosutnjak is one of Belgrade’s most visited parks, and Saturday afternoon, when the accident happened, is traditionally when families and groups of friends gather there for picnics and birthday celebrations.

For now, the case is being treated as an accident rather than a criminal matter. If authorities later determine that the tree was a known hazard, that would raise the question of responsibility for those in charge of maintaining the park’s greenery. Until then, everything remains at the level of assumption, and the relevant municipal services and police have not yet issued any statement or comment.

As of Saturday evening, the responsible institutions had not issued an official statement on the cause of the tree’s collapse, the identities of the injured, or whether the incident was reported to police as requiring further investigation. It is also unknown whether the tree has since been removed from the site or is still lying on the gazebo.

The injured picnickers remained under treatment at the Emergency Center. It is not known whether any of them were kept for further hospital treatment or released home after receiving care. The Srpske Novine newsroom is following the story and will publish further information as soon as authorities issue an official statement on the cause of the accident in Kosutnjak.