Politika, 24 April 1999

The Radio-Television of Serbia, Yugoslav biggest television information house, was struck yesterday at 2:06 a.m. local time while the news program was being broadcast. This criminal attack by murderers from among the NATO alliance caused a large number of casualties. At the time of the bombing, about 150 employees were inside, and the enemy projectile hit precisely the part of the RTS building from where the program was being broadcast and where the largest number of journalists, cameramen, editors, tone technicians and other employees were working at the moment.

According to the yesterday's information by Goran Matic, Minister in the Federal Government, in this murderous attack of the NATO air forces minimum 10 men were killed, and 17 were wounded. Unfortunately, this is not the definitive number of the victims, because yesterday it was estimated that further about 20 men were still beneath the wreckage.

Out of the 17 wounded, four received serious injuries, and one person died in spite of all the doctors' efforts, said docent dr. Vladimir Djukic, director of the Emergency Centre.

Dr. Djukic and Professor dr. Dragan Micic, assistant director of the Clinical Centre of Serbia, provided a report on the casualties who received medical treatment yesterday night and morning. Aleksandar Stepanovic,1970, was operated on during the night, and his state is reported as stabile. Stepanovic received serious head and chest injuries. Predrag Djuricic, 1974, Bojan Mijatovic, 1975, and Miroslav Mlinar, 1967, are under intensive care having sustained blast and trauma injuries.

The following men received medical treatment in the Emergency Centre: Nebojsa Vasic (1975), Slavica Miljevic (1957), Marija Mitrovic (1969), Dragan Sukovic (1966), Branko Matijasevic (1940), Milan Stancevic (1976), Mihajlo Aleksic (1930), Vojislav Joakimovic (1946), Aleksandar Vukmirovic (1965), Danka Djordjevic (1964), Dragica Rakic (1947), Biljana Savovic (1972) and Rizan Sabotic (1966). After treatment they were discharged and transported to their homes.

At the yesterday's press conference docent dr. Djukic expressed fear that the number of victims was not conclusive, because at the time of the press conference one of the major reinforced-concrete slabs was still un-removed.

After the press conference, allowed to visit the injured, journalists have heard the stirring stories of those who have survived this monstrous and insane attack by the criminal alliance. Casualties are mostly young men, who at the time of the explosion were all doing their jobs, men who by any war laws cannot be identified otherwise but the innocent civilians.

Bojan Mijatovic, a security guard, was at the entrance hall door at the moment of explosion.

- I heard the sound of planes and saw them flying low. I saw the projectile which was dropped behind my back, and the explosion took me up and threw me off 50 meters over to the parking lot. It was my hairbreadth escape. There is no more hall, and there were some ten men inside.

Predrag Djuricic, tone technician, can hardly find words to describe the boom, horror, darkness, panic...

- We were closed up all around, started to suffocate. We could not make our way out. In the video-editing room next to us, there were five-six men. I do not know what has happened to them, Predrag asks worriedly about his colleagues.

One among the most stirring stories is of Miroslav Mlinar, journalist of the Serbian Television of Sydney, from Australia, who just by chance happened to be near the building of the RTS.

- I saw three bodies protruding from the wreckage. I approached the nearest one, but the man was already dead, all thorn apart. I moved on to pull out the second one. Then went back for the third one, but then I collapsed. The firemen arrived then. This has been a horror that cannot be put into the words, Mlinar said.


1999-04-24 Tens of Dead in the Attack on the RTS
1999-04-24 Severely Damaged Children Theatre and Children Cultural Centre, the Surrounding Buildings and apartments
1999-04-24 St. Mark's and Russian Churches Damaged in the Attack on the RTS