Hungary races to build dam as reservoir crack widens
Workers raced to build an emergency dam in western Hungary yesterday as cracks in a reservoir widened, threatening to unleash a second torrent of toxic sludge on the village of Kolontar and nearby rivers.
About one million cubic meters of the waste material leaked out of the alumina plant reservoir into villages and waterways earlier this week, killing seven people, injuring 123 and fouling rivers including a local branch of the Danube.
Kolontar was evacuated on Saturday after cracks appeared in the northern wall of the reservoir, threatening a second spill of the toxic red sludge.
News agency MTI cited environment state secretary Zoltan Illes as saying a 25-meter-long crack in the weakened wall had widened slightly by Sunday morning.
Tibor Dobson, spokesman of disaster crews at the scene, said
workers had laid down the groundwork of a new, 4- to 5-meter (13- to 16.5-foot) high dam in Kolontar to ward off any fresh flood of the sludge, which tore through neighbouring areas on Monday, toppling cars and wreaking havoc in houses.
Dobson said the number of people evacuated from Kolontar, which lies closest to the reservoir, had increased to about 1,000 overnight.
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