Two killed as river of toxic mud floods village after factory's 'sludge dam' breaks



Two people were killed and 120 were injured after the dam to a 'sludge reservoir' of an aluminium smelting factory burst and flooded three villages with toxic mud.

Among the dead was a three-month-old baby from the village of Kolontar, western Hungary, where a school was evacuatedm while more than 400 households were affected in the neighbouring village of Devecser.

Seven people are still missing and 90 people have so far been treated in hospital for chemical burns after the toxic flood surged through three villages.

See the video below ...



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Submerged: A firefighter pours mud put of his boot after wading through the flood of toxic red mud in Devecser

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The National Disaster Unit was last night considering whether to totally evacuate the affected areas.

Gyorgy Bakos, a county disaster-control spokesman, said about 600,000-700,000 cubic metres of the poisonous sludge had spilled from the reservoir.

The chemical infused in the mud was alumina, used in the smelting of aluminium, and was highly caustic according to Hungarian news outlet www.naplo-online.hu.

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The immense power of the foaming red-coloured river which gushed through the villages pushed cars out of its way, smashed through properties and left a watermark at head hight on some houses

Police have launched criminal investigations to clarify why the dam burst at the Ajkai Timfoldgyar Zrt plant, owned by MAL Zrt, in the region 100 miles west of Budapest.



No representatives of the factory or company were immediately available to comment.

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