Hungary toxic spill (photos)

The reservoir of an alumina plant burst, flooding several towns in western Hungary with red sludge. At least three people were killed, officials said Tuesday.

Volunteers work to clean Devecser, about 90 miles west of Budapest.
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Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his government will decide this week whether to restart production at the alumina plant where a retaining wall burst, unleashing the toxic mess.

Oct. 13, 2010

Volunteers work to clean Devecser, about 90 miles west of Budapest.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his government will decide this week whether to restart production at the alumina plant where a retaining wall burst, unleashing the toxic mess.

Laszlo Balogh-Reuters

Oct. 12, 2010

An aerial view of Kolontar. More than 1 million cubic meters of poisonous chemical sludge has inundated three villages, killing eight people and injuring more than 100.

Sandor H. Szabo-AP

Oct. 12, 2010

A reservoir contains the same type of mud that washed over nearby villages. Crews are racing to complete an emergency dam to prevent a second deluge.

Sandor H. Szabo-AP

Oct. 12, 2010

Areas that appear red from the aerial view of Kolontar have been flooded by sludge.

Sandor H. Szabo-AP

Someone left handprints on wall in Devecser.
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The government has taken over the facilities of aluminium firm MAL Zrt.

Oct. 11, 2010

Someone left handprints on wall in Devecser.

The government has taken over the facilities of aluminium firm MAL Zrt.

Bernadett Szabo-Reuters

Oct. 11, 2010

A local woman rides her bicycle on a flooded street in Devecser.

Samuel Kubani-AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 11, 2010

A resident engages in cleanup in the flooded village of Devecser.

Bernadett Szabo-Reuters

Oct. 11, 2010

Residents take a break from cleanup in Devecser.

Bernadett Szabo-Reuters

Oct. 10, 2010

A Hungarian firefighter wearing protective mask and clothing stands guard at the red sludge reservoir, where a rupture caused deadly sludge flood in Kolontar, Hungary.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 11, 2010

A Hungarian soldier, wearing protective gear, looks on while cleaning streets covered by toxic red sludge in Devecser, Hungary.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 11, 2010

Volunteers wearing protective gear cross a street covered by toxic red sludge in Devecser, Hungary.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 11, 2010

A resident drives while wearing a protective mask in Devecser, Hungary.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 10, 2010

A worker stands next to a new crack on top of the broken dike of the reservoir containing red mud of an alumina factory near Ajka, Hungary.

Lajos Nagy-AP

Oct. 9, 2010

Hungarian soldiers wearing protective gear are washed by water jets in Devecser, Hungary.

Lajos Nagy-AP

Oct. 9, 2010

An elderly resident cleans his house in Devecser, Hungary.

Balint Porneczi-AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 9, 2010

Rescue workers walk past a toy tractor covered with mud on a red-sludge covered street of Devecser.

Balint Porneczi-AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 9, 2010

A Hungarian firefighter cleans a street covered by toxic red sludge in Devecser, Hungary.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 9, 2010

Rescue workers remove debris in a local garden in Devecser about 150 km west of Hungarian capital Budapest.

Balint Porneczi-AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 9, 2010

The evacuated Hungarian village of Kolontar, 150 km (93.2 miles) west of Budapest, is seen from the air.

Laszlo Balogh-Reuters

Oct. 9, 2010

Social workers wearing protective gear clean a house flooded by toxic red sludge in Devecser, Hungary.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 9, 2010

A fisherman sorts his catch on October 9, 2010 from the Danube river in Bazias, 480 kms west of Bucharest, where the Danube river enters Romania.

Daniel Mihailescu-AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 9, 2010

Rescue workers prepare to clean houses and yards in Devecser, about 150 kms west of Budapest.

Balint Porneczi-AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 7, 2010

A scarecrow is seen in a yard flooded by toxic mud in Devecser, Hungary. The toxic red sludge that inundated three Hungarian villages reached Europe's mighty Danube River on Thursday but no immediate damage was evident, Hungary's rescue operations agency said. The European Union and environmental officials had feared an environmental catastrophe affecting half a dozen nations if the red sludge, a waste product of making aluminum, contaminated Europe's second-longest river after bursting out of a factory's reservoir.

Darko Bandic-AP

Oct. 6, 2010

An aerial view of the broken reservoir at the aluminum factory near Ajka, about 96 miles southwest of Budapest. The reservoir burst on Monday, releasing a toxic sludge that inundated three villages and threatened waterways.

Sandor H. Szabo-AP

Oct. 6, 2010

An elderly man tries to clean up his home in the flooded village of Devecser.

Laszlo Balogh-Reuters

Oct. 6, 2010

A man battles toxic sludge in the flooded village of Devecser.

Bernadett Szabo-Reuters

Oct. 6, 2010

Dead fish float on the Marcal River at the bridge of Morichida. "Life in the Marcal River has been extinguished," Tibor Dobson, a spokesman for the Hungarigan rescue agency, told The Associated Press.

Attila Kisbenedek-AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 6, 2010

Firemen from the Gyor town station spray a material called industrial gypsum into the Marcal River to coagulate the toxic water in Morichida village.

Attila Kisbenedek-AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 5, 2010

A traffic lamp is seen at the plant of the Hungarian Aluminium Production and Trade Company in Ajka. The factory was closed by the Hungarian government.

Attila Kisbenedek-AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 5, 2010

Rescue workers begin the mammoth cleanup task in Devecser.

Bernadett Szabo-Reuters

Oct. 5, 2010

Residents of Devecser retrieve their belongings.

Bernadett Szabo-Reuters

Oct. 5, 2010

An animal was overcome by sludge in Kolontar.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 5, 2010

The most common injuries reported by the caustic sludge were burns on the skin and eyes, said the regional rescue service director.

Gyoergy Varga-AP

Oct. 5, 2010

A bridge was destroyed in Kolontar.

Bernadett Szabo-Reuters

Oct. 5, 2010

A woman salvages items from her home in Kolontar.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 5, 2010

A villager in Kolontar wades through sludge in his yard.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 5, 2010

Tunde Erdelyi retrieves her cat in Devecser.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 5, 2010

Logs displaced by the sludge litter a yard in Devecser.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 5, 2010

Streets in Devecser are covered with red sludge and debris.

Gyoergy Varga-AP

Oct. 4, 2010

About 600,000 cubic meters of sludge affected seven localities.

Bernadett Szabo-Reuters

Oct. 5, 2010

Janos Kis tries to return to his home in Devecser.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 5, 2010

A man surveys his surroundings in Devecser, where about 400 homes were devastated.

Attila Kisbenedek-AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 5, 2010

A woman sees the toxic mud's effects on her home in Devecser.

Bela Szandelszky-AP

Oct. 5, 2010

A retaining wall ruptured at the Ajkai Timfoldgyar plant. Hungarian officials are calling the resulting flood an ecological disaster.

Gyoergy Varga-AP

Oct. 4, 2010

Residents clear debris in Kolontar, about 90 miles west of Budapest.

Bernadett Szabo-Reuters

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This Story Hungarian sludge disaster darkens mood Article \| KOLONTAR, Hungary - The disaster that buried three Hungarian villages in caustic red sludge last week is deepening the gloom of a country gripped by recession, polarization and the near-ubiquitous feeling that its people are doomed to be victims of calamity. Hungary toxic spill (photos) No new cracks found on red sludge pool in Hungary Hungary toxic sludge video: Spill sparks emergency Hungary town evacuated, fears of new sludge flood Hungarian prime minister visits toxic sludge sites Sludge flood like Hungary's unlikely in US Hungary's MAL Rt. is 15-year-old aluminum company Efforts to clear toxic Hungary sludge		Network News X Profile View More Activity TOOLBOX E-Mail This Reprints		More on washingtonpost.com • More Photo News » washingtonpost.com
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Hungary toxic spill (photos)

The reservoir of an alumina plant burst, flooding several towns in western Hungary with red sludge. At least three people were killed, officials said Tuesday.

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