Rescue workers walk in toxic sludge in the flooded village of Devecser, 150 km (93 miles) west of Budapest, October 9, 2010. Hungary's premier warned on Saturday that the wall of a damaged industrial reservoir was likely to collapse, threatening a second spill of toxic red sludge, and a nearby village was evacuated as a precaution.Bernadett Szabo/Reuters
Hungary's Prime Minister warned on Saturday that the wall of a damaged industrial reservoir was likely to collapse, threatening a second spill of toxic red sludge, and a nearby village was evacuated as a precaution.
About one million cubic metres of the waste material leaked out of the alumina-plant reservoir into several villages and waterways earlier this week, killing seven people, injuring 123 and fouling some rivers including a local branch of the Danube.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said there was now a high risk of another up to 500,000 cubic metres of even thicker sludge escaping the reservoir due to a deterioration of a wall in the stricken part of the reservoir.
"Last night, the Interior Minister informed us that cracks have appeared in the northern wall of the reservoir, whose corner collapsed, which make it likely that the entire wall will collapse," Mr. Orban told a news conference.
"The detached parts of the dam are growing apart, the distance between them widened by 7 cm from late last night until this morning ... so it is very likely that we have to reckon on this wall collapsing," he said.
"We have amassed protective and neutralizing material needed to stop any new contamination from reaching the Danube via the rivers," said Mr. Orban, in remarks carried by private broadcaster HirTV from the town of Ajka near the disaster zone.
Mr. Orban said 715 people were evacuated from the village of Kolontar, hard-hit by Monday's spill, to Ajka as a precaution.
The national news agency MTI said crews were building a new four- to five-metre-high dam in Kolontar to ward off any fresh sludge inundation.
Hungary declared a state of emergency in three counties on Tuesday after sludge from the bauxite refining plant flooded three villages about 160 kilometres west of Budapest.
MTI said disaster crews were also poised to evacuate the town of Devecser, with 5,400 people, if necessary.
Mr. Orban said the military had deployed 319 soldiers and 127 transport vehicles into the town and there were also five trains at the ready should an evacuation become necessary.
"There is certainly sadness and unease (in Devecser), but there are no signs at all of panic," Mr. Orban said.
Mr. Orban said he would inform government officials about the findings of an investigation on Monday and reiterated his view that the disaster was likely the result of human error.
"We all are astonished because we are not aware of any information that could reduce (the likelihood of) human responsibility. My point is that behind this tragedy, there must have been some human errors and mistakes."
There will be "the toughest possible consequences" to ensure such a disaster does not recur, Mr. Orban said.
He added that a decision on whether to allow the plant to resume bauxite refining would not be made before Monday.
Many people suffered from burns and eye ailments caused by caustic and corrosive elements in the sludge.
There were still no estimates of the financial damage caused by the sludge and the cause of the accident remains unknown.
All life died in the Marcal River, the first to be struck by the sludge. There was sporadic fish death in other rivers. There were no reports of serious damage to the main branch of the Danube, which passes through many European countries.