Hungary toxic sludge spill an 'ecological catastrophe' says government

Hungary declared a state of emergency in three western counties after a large reservoir filled with toxic red sludge in western Hungary ruptured, releasing approximately 700,000 cubic meters (185 million gallons) of stinking caustic mud, killing four people and injuring 120 others in what officials said was an "ecological catastrophe".

An elderly woman, a young man and a three-year-old child died in the deluge and six others were reported missing. Two of the injured were in a serious condition.

The sludge, which is waste produced during aluminium manufacture, swept cars off roads and damaged bridges and homes, forcing the evacuation of 400 residents. About 7,000 people are thought to have been directly affected by the spill.


So far, about 1m cubic metres of sludge have leaked from the reservoir. Seven towns, including Kolontal, Devecser and Somlovasarhely, have been affected near the plant in Ajka, 100 miles south-west of Budapest.

Doctors said that the injured were being closely monitored because the chemical burns caused by the sludge could take days to emerge and what could seem like superficial injuries could later cause damage to deeper tissue.

People in Kolontar, the closest village to the burst reservoir, were trying to recover their belongings but police were not letting them enter their flooded homes.


There are fears that the sludge could reach the Raba and Danube rivers and then danube ares from Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria.

Local environmentalists said the plant, which had been privatised several years ago, should have been modernised but that the company put profits first.

Robert Fidrich, of Friends of the Earth in Hungary, said: "Now we, the public, will have to pay the real bill. You can forget about cleaning up those villages … nobody will be able to live there for 10 years or more. It has affected the lives of hundreds of people."