The Hungarian military arrives in Kolontár to evacuate the toxic village
As you may have seen on television or read on the Internet, a major toxic spill occured in Hungary, when the walls of an aluminium plant’s reservoir burst, flooding 40 square kilometres of land and rivers with 35 million cubic feet of red-coloured chemical sludge. A total of 8 people died in the village of Kolontár, which has since been completely evacuated. According to Tibor Dobson–a spokesperson for the Hungarian governmental rescue agency–all life along the 40km stretch of the River Marcal has been extinguished and as such, rescue workers are now working to safeguard the nearby Rába and Danube rivers from a similar fate. Workers have poured both plaster and vinegar into the Rába and Danube rivers, in an effort to lower their pH levels. The risk to human life is that once the red sludge dries up, dust particles may emit high levels of radiation.
Kolontár’s 800 residents have lost their homes and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán suggested that the entire municipality was a “write-off,” adding that it made no sense for the evacuees to return. The private company responsible for the worst environmental disaster in the country’s history, Magyar Aluminium (MAL), was summarily nationalized by the Government of Hungary following the industrial accident and the firm’s director was arrested by police. MAL supplies an eighth of all aluminium used in the European Union and produces 4% of all aluminium worldwide.
Please pray for the families of the deceased, the 800 residents who have lost their homes and for the natural and wildlife effected by the chemical spill in the 40 square kilometre zone.
Below are some additional photos of the chemical spill from “Index,” a Hungarian news agency.
Kolontár, after the chemical spill and flood of red sludge
A resident flees Kolontár after the spill
A resident cleans his yard in Kolontár, following the spill
Kolontár, after the evacuation
A flooded and damaged home in Kolontár
Flooded, toxic agricultural areas around Kolontár
A resident is rescued from her flooded home in the town of Devecser, 12km from Kolontár
A map showing the affected areas, including Kolontár, and the Marcal and Rába Rivers
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