Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Hungarian villagers demand compensation over toxic sludge

World Worst Disasters
Authorities have ordered a criminal inquiry into the accident, which killed at least 4 people, injured 120 and left three people missing.

After bursting from the reservoir and flooding three villages on Monday, the sludge - a waste product of aluminium production that can contain heavy metals - ended up in the Marcal River, part of the tributary system feeding the Danube, some 45 miles to the north.

It is feared it could contaminate the Danube, one of Europe's biggest rivers.

Angry villagers gathered outside the mayor's office in Kolontar, as they berated a senior official of MAL Rt., the Hungarian Aluminium Production and Trade Company that owns the Ajkai Timfoldgyar plant, demanding compensation.

Local officials said 34 homes in the village were uninhabitable. However, furious residents said the disaster had destroyed the whole community by making their real estate valueless.


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