Zagreb: The "Vjesnik" business skyscraper will have to be demolished urgently

The Vjesnik business tower in the wider centre of Zagreb will have to be urgently demolished after a recent fire in which it was almost completely destroyed, it was announced today in the Croatian capital. Croatian Minister of Construction and State Property Branko Bačić told reporters that the Croatian Centre for Earthquake Engineering (HCPI) has concluded that it is necessary to remove the structure due to the risk of collapse and that this should be done as soon as possible.

"It must be removed and the necessary documentation must be prepared for that and expert supervision must be carried out during the removal," said Bačić.

When asked when the demolition would begin, he replied that discussions with experts were already starting today to determine the removal method.

HCPI representative Mario Uroš said that it was concluded that it was necessary to remove the office building as soon as possible, because there is serious static damage to the structure.

"The longer such a structure stands, the greater the risk of collapse," warned Uroš.

He said that it was clear to him that various services would have to enter the building to investigate, but that no security could be guaranteed.

"You should stay inside for a very short time and at your own risk," concluded Uroš.

A fire broke out in one of the largest and most famous office buildings in Zagreb, majority owned by the state, on Monday, November 17th at around 23 p.m. Two 18-year-olds were arrested on suspicion of causing the fire, and the investigating judge ordered them to be detained for one month due to the risk of recidivism.

The Zagreb Prosecutor's Office suspects the first suspect of setting fire to a cardboard box filled with paper in the Vjesnik building on the evening of November 17th, and the second suspect of setting fire to paper from the box that he had discarded, which caused the fire to spread rapidly.

As the prosecutor's office announced, the fire then spread to several floors of the Vjesnik building, causing extensive property damage.

Croatian media reports that a group of teenagers were in a business building due to a challenge from the social network TikTok.

Citing unofficial sources, Jutarnji list reported that a group of young people, including several minors, entered the Vjesnik building in their spare time and looking for a challenge. They found groups on social media about abandoned or underused buildings, and their goal was to enter the building unnoticed, film the challenge, and leave the space undamaged, but things got complicated when a fire broke out that spread unexpectedly quickly.

The lawyer for one of the suspects told reporters that his client was actively defending himself and that he denied guilt.

"The story is thin. He denies it. He is in shock. He is a model student, a high school graduate," lawyer Ivan Orešković told reporters.

Only young men of legal age have had no problems with the law so far.

Police and firefighters are still controlling the area around Vjesnik, but entry into the building, which is almost completely burned down, is currently impossible and therefore no investigation has been conducted.

Special traffic regulations are in effect, with roads around the intersection of Slavonska Avenue and Savska Road closed, leading to heavy traffic congestion at one of the busiest intersections in the city and other streets in that part of the city.

The skyscraper, which was once a symbol of journalism and Zagreb, is 67 meters tall and has 16 floors, and was built over nine years, from 1963 to 1972.

For the last twenty years or so, this office building, once the headquarters of the daily newspaper Vjesnik, after which it was named, has been mostly empty and neglected, with only occasional office use.