Painting the Danube Alkaline Red

Hungary’s Toxic Sludge Spill Has Killed All the Fish in the Marcal River

“It’s a serious ecological catastrophe,” Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

Hungary’s Deadly Red Sludge Moves Toward the Danube. Freeze frame from a a BBC UK news video clip. Image may be subject to copyright. Click image to enlarge.

The Spill

At least seven villages were inundated by the deadly sludge on Monday after an alumina plant reservoir burst in the western county of Veszprem in Hungary.

The death toll currently stands at 4, with at least 3 people reported as missing and more than 120 injured, some of them with  severe burns.

“Visiting the village of Kolontar on Thursday, he said the worst-hit areas would have to be abandoned,” the report said.

As of Thursday morning the deadly sludge had reached the Raba river, and the Mosoni branch of the Danube, some 10km from the main branch, by early afternoon, Tibor Dobson, head of disaster relief in the area was quoted as saying.

The government suspended production at the MAL Zrt alumina plant on Tuesday, and declared a state of emergency in three counties.

Map of Danube.

The Danube

The Danube originates in Germany’s the Black Forest as two small rivers: Brigach and Breg. The Danube then flows southeastward for about 3,000 km passing through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, before emptying into the Black Sea at the Danube Delta shared by Romania and Ukraine.

Danube passes through the following cities:

Cities Ulm, Ingolstadt, Regensburg, Passau, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Mohács, Vukovar, Bačka Palanka, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Drobeta Turnu-Severin, Vidin, Rousse, Galaţi.

The Disaster Area

Source BBC.  Image may be subject to copyright.

A House in the Kotontar Village

A man stands in his destroyed home in the flooded village of Kolontar, 150 km (93 miles) west of Budapest October 6, 2010.  Credit: REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh. Image may be subject to copyright.