Official dismisses rumors about number of victims

Predrag Marić (Tanjug)

Official dismisses rumors about number of victims

BELGRADE -- People cannot return to their homes in Obrenovac because there are still no conditions for that, while the rumors about the number of victims are false.

This is what MUP Emergency Situations Sector chief Predrag Matić told B92 on Sunday. Officially, five people have so far died in the floods in Serbia.

Marić also denied that "Obrenovac was sacrificed for the sake of Valjevo" and that the town suffered a large number of victims.

Beside the five persons that have been confirmed dead in various parts of the country - one of them a rescue worker - another person from Varvarin on the Morava River is missing, Matić told a meeting of the national emergency situations HQ.

The catastrophic floods in Serbia have caused the evacuation of 24,352 people, while 2,260 buildings are under water and another 1,763 are in danger of being flooded, Marić pointed out.

Marić told B92 that a team was set up to define measures of assistance to those who are not directly in danger of the floods, and need food and medicines, and will also deal with disinfection of the affected areas.

This HQ is chaired by Gendarmerie commander Milenko Božović, and its members come from different MUP sectors and rescue teams that arrived from Russia, Slovenia, and other countries.

According to Marić, water levels in Obrenovac receded by almost a meter and trucks can now reach many locations there.

Elsewhere, this MUP official said, the situation is closely monitored above all in Sremska Mitrovica and Šabac, but the flood wave on the Sava River weakened as it passed through Croatia, which is favorable for Serbia downstream.

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