The cold snap that has gripped Serbia has pushed the death toll to 16, Head of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior's Sector for Emergency Management Predrag Maric told Tanjug on Friday.

Maric said that the current situation in Serbia is somewhat better than in the previous days, adding that since the state of emergency was announced the total of 117 heavy machines have been engaged in clearing up and rescue operations in snowed-in areas.

Maric said that Friday's action of the Sector for Emergency Management will be focused on distributing foodstuffs to citizens in the most affected areas.

The food from comodity reserves will be delivered on Friday in line with the requests that municipal emergency headquarters have submitted to the state emergency headquarters, while the cut-off areas will be reached with helicopters, Maric announced.

Maric announced that the Serbia's Emergency Situations Headquarters will hold a session on Friday at 3 p.m. to discuss the current situation in terms of snowfalls, ice sheets on rivers, and saving power i.e. drafting a proposal on non-working days in the coming week.

Maric recalled that an emergency situation has been declared in 38 municipalities in Serbia, and that it is yet to be seen whether the measures will be lifted in the municipalities of Becej and Secanj, north Vojvodina, .

The emergency measures will be in place in all other municipalities until the last households are reached by means of the machinery, Maric said.