Bombing of Sports and Tourist Facilities
Hotel Jugoslavija, New Belgrade
On May 7, 1999, at 11:50 p.m. and on May 8, 1999, at
1:50 a.m., "Jugoslavija" Hotel in New Belgrade, No. 3 Bulevar Nikole
Tesle, was hit by several missiles which demolished the central part of the
building and caused fire which destroyed the section close to the main entrance
of the hotel. The following business premises were located in the section:
"Pikola" company, exhibition lounge, "JU Hertz" Rent-a-Car,
PP "Sunce", "Alhema" agency, "Lafran" boutique,
handicrafts shops, a banquet hall and other premises. Windows and doors in the
remaining part of the building are disjoint and all glasses are broken.
Andjelko Ninčić was killed in the attack. He was a refugee residing
in the hotel. Grave bodily injuries were sustained by Slavko Dimitrovski (born
1948), while Dragoslav Zdravković (born 1934), Srdjan Majer (born 1981)
and child Filip Rošić (born 1989) suffered minor injuries. They were all
in the vicinity of the hotel at the time
of explosion. Due to the fire and demolition of a part of the building, 23 cars
of "Hertz" Rent-a-Car were damaged, as well as 25 Nissan vehicles
parked in front of the main entrance.
Kri. 602/99
INVESTIGATION REPORT
Made on May 8, 1999 with respect to the attack by NATO
forces on "Jugoslavija" Hotel, New Belgrade, No. 3 Bulevar Nikole
Tesle, on the night of May 7/8, 1999
INVESTIGATION ATTENDED BY:
Investigative judge Deputy
Public Prosecutor
Stevica Čukić Veselin Mrdak
INVESTIGATION TEAM OF THE BELGRADE SECRETARIAT OF THE
INTERIOR HEADED BY
Božin Milojković
On May 8, 1999, at 8:45 a.m., I was informed by the
police department on duty of the Belgrade Secretariat of the Interior that an
investigation should be conducted regarding the damage of
"Jugoslavija" Hotel in New Belgrade, No. 3 Bulevar Nikole Tesle,
inflicted by the NATO aggressor.
Having received the information, I advised Deputy
Public Prosecutor on duty, Veselin Mrdak, with whom I arrived at the spot at
9:00 a.m. There we found the police investigation team of the Belgrade
Secretariat of the Interior, headed by Second Lieutenant Božin Milojković.
Police investigation technicians, Časlav Ristić and Radivoje
Stojanović, were ordered to take photographs of the entire building of
"Jugoslavija" Hotel, film it with a video camera and make sketches of
the location.
Based on the gathered information, the building of
"Jugoslavija" Hotel, located in New Belgrade, No. 3 Bulevar Nikole
Tesle, was hit by several missiles in two separate attacks: on May 7, 1999 at
11:50 p.m. and on May 8, 1999, at 1:50 a.m. when the mid-section of the
building, with the hotel kitchen, was destroyed. Fire broke out and devastated
the part to the left from the main entrance where business premises of many
companies were located. Traces of fire are also visible from top to floor, to
the left from the kitchen, in the "B" category part of the hotel. The
complete furniture there was burned and the walls cracked from the detonation.
Due to the demolition of the kitchen, a large number of cars were damaged on
the parking lot between the "B" category part of the hotel and the left
side of the main entrance. On the right-hand side of the parking lot, next to
the kitchen, 25 unregistered Nissan vehicles were damaged. A few cars were
damaged on the parking lot in front of the main entrance.
The exhibition lounge of the business premises, situated
to the right from the main entrance, was completely destroyed. The windows are
disjoint, the glasses are broken, the ceiling and the hotel shops are damaged,
as well as the residential part. The lobby windows and shutters are broken and
torn apart. Straight from the main entrance is a hall converted into privately
owned business premises where outside window panes are either broken or
cracked, shutters torn apart and furniture partially damaged. The
"Gril" and "Zlatni ovan" restaurants, to the left from the
converted lounge, have broken glasses, damaged walls, cracked and damaged
ceilings. The entire furniture, equipment and musical instruments are also
damaged.
On the first floor there is an aperitif bar whose all
glasses are broken and window frames disjoint. Some windows are also broken in
the conservatory and the floor is covered with glass splinters. This section
leads to the banquet hall "Vardar and Drina" where all the glasses
are broken, door damaged and partly even blown away and lying on the floor.
Further on from the banquet hall "Drina" is the kitchen which
occupies the space of about 600 square metres. It is noticeable that the
ceiling there has collapsed, and that the space on lower levels, accommodating
the bakery, meat preparation room, refrigerating chamber, vegetable preparation
room and food storage space, is heavily damaged. Further on, in the panorama
hall of about 500 square metres, all the glasses are broken and the ceilings,
furniture and fittings are damaged. This hall is adjacent to the hall of
"Coats of Arms" where all the glasses are broken, the ceilings
damaged and fallen off in places. It is also noticeable that all the glasses
are broken in the office section, the door and window frames are dislocated.
The ceiling has fallen off here and there. Serving plates and glasses are
broken.
The banquet halls "Drava", "Bakusan
Hall", "Morava", "Sava" and "Dunav" are
heavily damaged. All the windows with a view of the river Danube are broken,
while the window frames are partially damaged and dislocated. Also damaged are
the ceiling and offices opposite the kitchen. There is a flight of stairs
leading from the "Dunav" banquet hall to a rented space on the ground
floor. The window and door glasses there are all broken. From that space, one
may proceed to the "Djerdap" banquet hall. All its glasses are broken
and furniture partly damaged. Severe damage is noticeable on the ceremonial
entrance to the hotel from the Danube side. All the glasses are broken, the
ceiling cracked and the door frames loose. The staircase leading to the first
floor is totally destroyed. The cafe lounge on the Danube side of the hotel is
also damaged. All the glasses are broken, the doors are loose and there are
noticeable cracks on the walls. The recreation centre door is damaged and the
glasses cracked. The ceiling of the casino (under lease) is damaged and the
front door glass broken. The rooms rented for business purposes are situated
above the casino, to the right from the main entrance. The glasses there are broken,
the door and window frames disjoint and the ceilings cracked.
Further investigation and inspection of all rooms from
the first to the eighth floor established that the furniture, doors and windows
are damaged and that at this point it may be ascertained that the material
damage is of vast proportions.
During the investigation conducted by the
investigative and operative division of the criminal police investigation
department of the Belgrade Secretariat, an information was received that on May
8, 1999, at 8:00 a.m., a dead body of an unidentified man, age about 60, was
transferred from "Jugoslavija" Hotel to the Forensic Institute and
that it was probably the body of Andjelko Ninčić, a refugee residing
in "Jugoslavia" Hotel. He sustained fatal injuries during the second
air bombardment by the NATO aggressor on May 8, 1999. It was ordered that the
body be taken to the Forensic Institute for autopsy.
It was also reported that Slavko Dimitrovski,
Dragoslav Zdravković, Srdjan Majer and Filip Rošić, who happened to
be in the vicinity of the hotel, had been taken to "Zemun" Hospital
for medical assistance due to the injuries inflicted on them on May 8, 1999,
around 2:30 a.m., while they were near the hotel at the time when the bombing
occurred.
Second Lieutenant Božin Milojković from the
department on duty, as well as criminal investigation technicians Časlav
Ristić and Radivoje Stojanović, had been given an order to make a
detailed inspection of the location and register all the damage caused by
bombing, photograph it and record with a video camera. After the task was
completed by the police investigation team of the Belgrade Secretariat, the
ensuing report D. No. 1438/99 dated May 8, 1999, will constitute an integral
part of this report. It should be noted, though, that the sketch of the
location, the photographs and the video tape will be attached to this report
only after they have been received from the investigative and operative
division.
The scope of the damage in terms of value could not be
established in the course of the investigation since we were dealing with the
destruction of one of the most reputable hotels in Belgrade, but it is obvious
that the damage is huge and will be fully established in the follow-up
procedure.
The investigation was concluded at 11:00 a.m.
Investigative
judge
(sgd)
Stevica Čukić
Republic of Serbia
MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR
BELGRADE SECRETARIAT OF THE INTERIOR
Criminal Investigation Department
Investigative and Operative Division
No. D. 1438/99
Date: May 8, 1999
Belgrade
REPORT
On May 7, 1999 at 11:50 p.m. and on May 8, 1999, at
1:50 a.m., several NATO missiles hit "Jugoslavija" Hotel in New
Belgrade, No. 3 Bulevar Nikole Tesle. The mid-section of the building and the
hotel kitchen were destroyed. Fire broke out and devastated the part to the
left from the main entrance with business premises of "Pikola"
company, exhibition lounge, "JU Hertz" Rent-a-Car, PP
"Sunce", "Alhema" agency, "Lafran" boutique,
ladies' hairdresser and a manicure parlour whose owner has remained unknown so
far. The fire also caught the entire space from top to floor, on the left of
the kitchen, in the "B" category part of the hotel. The complete
furniture there was burned and the walls cracked from the detonation. Due to
the collapse of the central part of the building where the kitchen was, the
cars owned by "Hertz" Rent-a-Car, were damaged on the parking lot
between the "B" category part of the hotel and the left side of the
main entrance. Their registration plates numbers are: BG 348-935, BG 149-047,
BG 348-940, BG 341-451, BG 459-753, BG 261-406, BG 949-91, BG 431-944, BG
230-241, BG 941-191, BG 160-543, BG 170-681, BG 160-54, BG 183-514, BG 348-933,
BG 232-244, BG 160-338, BG 366-163, BG 363-116, BG 958-407, BG 960-747, BG
174-805 and BG 941-187. On the right-hand side of the parking lot, next to the
kitchen, 25 unregistered Nissan vehicles were damaged. The following cars were
damaged on the parking lot in front of the main entrance: "Fiat" BG
820-241 and "Opel Cadet" without registration plates, which was
completely burnt and presumably belonged to ANDJELKO NINČIĆ, other
identification details unknown, resident of the room 306,
"Jugoslavija" Hotel. Part of an exhibition lounge of the Swedish
company "DUIM", to the right of the main entrance, is completely
demolished, window frames disjoint, glass broken and the ceiling damaged. Also
damaged is the hotel shop and part of the reception. The lobby windows and
shutters are broken and torn apart. Straight from the main entrance is a hall
converted for business purposes and in which "Azaro" company,
"Sveti Nikola" gallery, "Rojal" company and others
sustained heavy damage in that the outside window panes are cracked, shutters
torn apart and furniture partially damaged. The "Gril" and
"Zlatni ovan" restaurants, to the left from the converted lounge,
have broken glasses, damaged walls, cracked and damaged ceilings. The entire
furniture, equipment and musical instruments of the "Ekstra Band" are
also damaged.
On the first floor there is an aperitif bar whose all
glasses are broken and window frames disjoint. Some windows are also broken in
the conservatory and the floor is covered with glass splinters. This section
leads to the banquet hall "Vardar and Drina" where all the glasses
are broken, door damaged and even blown away and lying on the floor. Further on
from the banquet hall "Drina" is the kitchen which occupies the space
of about 600 square metres. It is noticeable that the ceiling there has
collapsed, and that the space on lower levels, accommodating the bakery, meat
preparation room, refrigerating chamber, vegetable preparation room and food
storage space, is heavily damaged. Farther on, in the "Panorama"
banquet hall of about 500 square metres, all the glasses are broken and the
ceilings, pieces of furniture and fittings are damaged. This hall is adjacent
to the hall of "Coats of Arms" where all the glasses are broken, the
ceilings damaged and fallen off in places. It is also noticeable that all the
glasses are broken in the office section, the door and window frames are
dislocated. The ceiling has fallen off here and there. Serving plates and
glasses are broken.
The banquet halls "Drava", "Bakusan
Hall", "Morava", "Sava" and "Dunav" are
heavily damaged. All the windows with a view of the river Danube are broken,
while the window frames are partially damaged and dislocated. Also damaged are
the ceiling and offices opposite the kitchen. There is a flight of stairs
leading from the "Dunav" banquet hall to a space on the ground floor
rented by "Kolo kolo". The window and door glasses there are all
broken. From that space, one may proceed to the "Djerdap" banquet
hall. All its glasses are broken and furniture partly damaged. Considerable
damage is noticeable on the ceremonial entrance to the hotel from the Danube
side. All the glasses are broken, the ceiling cracked and the door frames
loose. The staircase leading to the first floor is totally destroyed. The cafe
lounge on the Danube side of the hotel is also damaged. All the glasses are
broken, the doors are loose and there are noticeable cracks on the walls. The
door of the recreation centre (section used by the "Kick Box"
Associations of Serbia and Yugoslavia) is damaged and the glasses cracked. The
ceiling of the casino (under lease) is partially damaged and the glass to the
left of the front door is broken. The rooms rented as business premises to
"Viba" company are situated above the casino, to the right from the
main entrance. The glasses there are broken, the door and window frames
disjoint and the ceilings cracked. The furniture, doors and windows in all
rooms from the 1st to the 8th floors are damaged. The fire was extinguished by
the police fire department.
The exact material damage has not been established,
but it is huge.
The on-site investigation was conducted by Stevica Čukić,
investigative judge on call of the Belgrade District Court, in the presence of
Veselin Mrdak, Deputy District Public Prosecutor.
Criminal investigation technicians, Časlav Ristić
and Radivoje Stojanović, inspected the location, made photographs and
filmed it.
Second
Lieutenant
Božin
Milojković
Republic of Serbia
MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR
BELGRADE SECRETARIAT OF THE INTERIOR
Criminal Investigation Department
Investigative and Operative Division
No. D. 1438/99
Date: May 8, 1999
Belgrade
REPORT
On May 8, 1999, at 8:00 a.m., the body of an
unidentified man, about 60 years of age, 184 cm tall, of medium build, with
graying black hair, mildly bold over the forehead, was exposed in the Forensic
Institute of Belgrade, Deligradska Street. The body was dressed in a two-piece
dark pajamas. About 30% of the skin is covered with burns, most probably of the
2nd degree. No injuries have been detected by visual examination of the body.
The deceased had a white plastic lighter in his right hand with the SPS logo on
it, and a "Nivada" quartz wrist watch on his left hand, with a black
leather watchband. It was probably the body of ANDJELKO NINČIĆ, a
refugee who had been residing in "Jugoslavija" Hotel, New Belgrade,
No. 3 Bulevar Nikole Tesle and who sustained lethal injuries during the NATO
bombing of "Jugoslavija" Hotel, New Belgrade, No. 3 Bulevar Nikole
Tesle, on May 8, 1999, at 2:00 a.m. Upon the order of Stevica Čukić,
an investigative judge of the Belgrade District Court, the body was transported
to the Forensic Institute for autopsy.
On May 8, 1999, around 2:30, SLAVKO DIMITROVSKI,
father's name Vladimir, born on January 19, 1948, residing in New Belgrade, No.
35/33 John Kennedy Street, was brought in an ambulance to the Zemun Hospital.
Dr. Isaković, a physician on call, detected a serious injury - a fractured
collar bone - and released the patient after giving him medical assistance.
DRAGOSLAV ZDRAVKOVIĆ, father's name Milutin, born on February 21, 1934,
residing in Zemun, No. 10 Georgi Georgiju Deža Street, was admitted by Dr.
Berisavac, a physician on duty, who found out that the patient had suffered a
minor injury - a cut on the head - and released the patient after giving him
medical assistance. SRDJAN MAJER, father's name Zlatko, born on September 17,
1981, residing in Zemun, Kej oslobodjenja Street, was admitted by Dr. Cvetković
who found out that the patient had suffered a minor injury - a flank contusion
on the back - and released the patient after giving him medical assistance.
FILIP ROŠIĆ, a child, father's name Nenad, born on June 2, 1989, with no
other identification details, was admitted by Dr. Cvetković who found out
that the patient had suffered a minor injury - a laceration on the right arm -
and released the patient after giving him medical assistance. All the above
mentioned persons were injured on May 8, 1999, around 2:00 a.m., while they
were in the vicinity of "Jugoslavija" Hotel, during the bombing by
NATO warplanes.
Nebojša Radosavljević, criminal investigation
technician, photographed the unidentified body in "as is" condition
and took his fingerprints.
Junior
Sergeant Major
(sgd)
Aleksandar Gajić
Sports Stadium in Prijepolje
