On Friday, June 23, 1995, around half past seven in the evening, the citizens of Zemun heard a loud bang and saw a mushroom of smoke above "Grmeč", a local chemical industrial complex known until now for building insulation and floor coverings. After the explosion, which shook the whole of Zemun and broke the windows of the surrounding buildings, a fire followed, which fortunately was quickly contained. The militia reacted even faster than the firefighters, who immediately blocked the entire area. Mayor Nebojša Čović came to the scene ("It is a tragedy, I can't tell you anything more," he said), representatives of the republic's ministries of health, trade unions (state) and the Chamber of Commerce.
The same evening, the SUP issued an official statement with the names of ten dead and twelve injured (one of them later died). "So far, it has not been determined what caused the explosion, and intensive work is being done to shed light on all the circumstances that led to the tragedy," it was said. The Ministry of Health and Ecology told citizens that "there is no danger to the environment of residents in the area and other facilities." Investigating judge Mladen Anđelković and prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević, who came to carry out the investigation, told the families of the victims that the cause of the accident was "an unknown reaction in chemical production" and asked journalists "to refrain from unverified and unreliable information".
Mysterious yellow powder
What really happened that evening in "Grmeč" could be heard from the workers who happened to be nearby. "I can't explain to you how I felt when I saw the condition of my comrades and colleagues. Their bodies were dismembered and charred. We collected them all over the plant and around the plant," one of the survivors told reporters.
Nikola Isaković, who can be said to have been lucky (he survived), told a rather detailed story. He said that on that day, the army brought material to "Grmeč", which was then poured into a machine called a two-roller. By mixing, a kind of yellow powder was obtained, which turned into something similar to a plastic film after passing between several tons of heavy rollers: "I was standing next to the machine the whole time and I was just collecting the powder that was spilling around. I needed a broom and I went to find it. As soon as I moved a few meters away, I heard a crash. The detonation threw me more than ten meters. Seeing the horror around me, I headed for the exit. However, the electric cables got in the way, so I couldn't get through there. I turned around and saw that I was surrounded by flames. I saw a hole in the wall made by the explosion, and I realized that this was my only escape."
The explosion killed Ljubiša Ivić,
Živorad Stefanović, Dragan Veljić, Bora
Stoisavljević, Branka Jovanović, Vojislav
Mučibabić, Zdravko Stančić, Goran Maslaković,
Gojko Đukanović, Petar Rot and
Ivica Bešić. Injured were Marko Ljiljak,
Vladica Božić, Zija Delifi, Ljuba Radovanović,
Nikola Isaković, Boris Plavšić,
Đokica Katić and Darko Hasman.
Boris Plavšić was also saved, who was literally knocked out of his shoes by the explosion: "Only the explosion was heard, which blinded me and threw me several meters. When I recovered a little, I saw that I was barefoot, and left the hall."
Already on the second day after the accident, however, the news reports about the explosion suddenly changed their tone: instead of explaining what exploded and why, the public was served telegrams of condolence (sent by Zoran Lilić, Radoje Kontić, Mirko Marjanović, Dragan Tomić, Nebojša Čović and General Momčilo Perišić), and heartbreaking praises for the victims, who were all described as "people" with hearts "like a house" ("Večernje Novosti").
At the same time, it was carefully kept silent that there were officers of the Yugoslav Army among the victims: for example, the late Ivica Bešić was a colonel.
Apart from good words about their loved ones, the families of the victims were also offered money: 5000 from the federal government for each dead person, and 2000 for the wounded; The municipality of Zemun also paid one-time aid (in a slightly smaller amount) and declared June 27, the day of commemoration of the dead, as a day of mourning.
Not a word was heard about the army and yellow powder. At the same time, rumors about sabotage, sabotage, and even some kind of "explosive device brought from the Bosnian battlefield" ("Our Struggle") were carefully spread to the public.
Explosives in small containers
The real story of what happened in "Grmeč" is indeed related to Bosnia, but it is significantly more complex: with the outbreak of war in that republic, the army was left without a good part of its industrial complex, and thus without facilities for the production of solid rocket fuel, which is necessary for multi-barrel "flame" type launchers; that fuel was made in Vitez, a place controlled by the HVO. For the production of this substance, which looks very similar to a brownish plastic film, the heavy rollers described at the beginning of this text are necessary; the same rollers are also used for the production of floor coverings and similar non-explosive items, so the army approached various companies that have them. They refused the offer until one - except for "Grmeč", which successfully tried a similar military program ten years ago, but did not implement it due to unfavorable security conditions.
In the current penury, however, the contract with the army seemed tempting, so it was decided to hold the first rehearsal on Friday, June 23, for which the army paid "Grmeč" 6000 dinars. "Vremena" sources say that on that Friday, about twenty people, including the technical director, gathered at the plant for the production of "vinflex plates" (homogeneous floors), where the two-roller is located. The army brought about a hundred kilograms of components (several powdery and one liquid) in tin containers in which food is usually transported (so-called canisters).
The rehearsal started around six in the afternoon. Half an hour later, an explosion rang out, most likely due to self-ignition. In other words, it could have been caused by anything – for example, a spark from a metal filing.
The hall for "viniflex panels", in which nothing inflammable had been made until then, was not built according to the legally defined specifications of facilities for the production of explosive substances and did not even have a basic fire prevention purpose. Therefore, firefighters stood around the rollers with extinguishers ready: they were the first to die.
None of those present in the hall escaped without injury: the more fortunate ones were thrown behind some cover by the shock wave, thus sparing them from the oncoming heat shock that scorched the others. The concrete roof of the hall first flew into the air, then fell to the ground. Considering all those circumstances, it's a real miracle that anyone made it out alive.
It is not at all unusual that the authorities do everything to cover up the truth about the explosion in "Grmeč": in this case, a number of regulations were violated and at least two serious crimes were committed: causing general danger (Article 187 of the CC of Serbia) and a serious crime against the general safety of citizens (Article 194). In the second paragraph of Article 194, it says that the perpetrator who is responsible for the death of one or more persons is threatened with imprisonment from three to fifteen years.
There is little chance, however, that any of the people who devised and approved the production of rocket fuel in "Grmeč" will appear in court: there are many of these people, and they are very powerful. In a few days, the investigating authorities will publish a statement in which the "human factor" will most likely be mentioned as the main cause of the explosion (whatever).
Thus, all the blame will implicitly fall on the victims, and only one more problem will remain to be solved: find another factory that wants to give up the two-wheeler.
