Two construction workers killed in Bjelovar prison accident

Two construction workers were killed in a tragic accident at the Bjelovar prison on Monday.

The men had been clearing the attic of the local prison — a late 19th-century building currently under renovation — when a gable wall collapsed. The victims were a 42-year-old man from India and a 59-year-old Croatian man.

According to the Justice Ministry, prison medical staff and officers provided immediate assistance, but the men could not be saved before the ambulance arrived. An investigation is underway.

“We are terribly sorry that this happened. We will cooperate with all entities investigating the circumstances that led to this. What we can offer is our accountability and assistance to the families of the victims,” said Zvonimir Penić, Director of Prisons and Probation at the Ministry of Justice.

Dominik Nervo, director of Hidroregulacija, the company contracted for the renovation, said there were six workers and a supervisor on site at the time of the collapse. The remaining four workers were not injured.

“This is an old structure. We don’t have the original plans. We have a new project we’ve been working from, and under that plan, it should not have collapsed,” Nervo said.

Bjelovar Mayor Dario Hrebak expressed condolences to the victims’ families and said the city stands by everyone affected by the tragedy.