The hunt for victims goes on in Kolontar, Hungary. Six people are still reported missing in the catastrophe that occurred on Monday. Rescue workers, dressed in protective suits, used metal sticks to probe the chemical sludge for presumed victims.
On the 4th of October, an alumina plant reservoir burst and flooded three villages with red toxic sludge. Four people, including two toddlers, an elderly woman and a 35-year-old man were reported dead in the sludge. Over a hundred people were injured, most of whom were flown to hospitals in the capital, Budapest.
Although the break in the reservoir was repaired immediately, the escaped material continued to create trouble. Over 500 people from the National Disaster Management Authority and Hungarian Aluminum Production and Trade Company (MAL) tried to contain the flow of the sludge before it reaches River Danube. Emergency workers were trying to use neutralize the sludge using huge quantities of plaster and fertilizers. In spite of their best efforts, reports say that it has already reached River Marcal, which is one of the tributaries of the River Danube. Interior Minister Sandor Pinter, has assured the public that measures have been taken to see that the toxic material will be neutralized long before it reaches the Danube.
The metal sludge, when untreated, causes chemical burns and eye irritation. Locals were advised not to consume anything from the gardens that were covered with the sludge.
The authorities remain unsure as to when the evacuated residents of the villages of Kolontar, Devecser and Somlovasarhely, will be able to return home and what the long term consequences of the chemical spill would cause.
MAL, company that owns the alumina plant's reservoir, offers its sincere condolences to the victims of the disaster.
