Hungary today declared a state of emergency in three western counties after a dam holding back a vast reservoir of toxic red sludge, from an alumina plant, burst, killing four people and injuring 120 others in what officials said was an "ecological catastrophe".
An elderly woman, a young man and a three-year-old child died in the deluge and six others were reported missing. Two of the injured were in a serious condition.
The sludge, which is waste produced during aluminium manufacture, swept cars off roads and damaged bridges and homes, forcing the evacuation of 400 residents. About 7,000 people are thought to have been directly affected by the spill.
The sludge poured out yesterday when a dam at the reservoir of the Ajkai Timfoldgyar Zrt alumina plant, owned by MAL Zrt, broke after days of heavy rain.
So far, about 1m cubic metres of sludge have leaked from the reservoir. Seven towns, including Kolontal, Devecser and Somlovasarhely, have been affected near the plant in Ajka, 100 miles south-west of Budapest.
Doctors said that the injured were being closely monitored because the chemical burns caused by the sludge could take days to emerge and what could seem like superficial injuries could later cause damage to deeper tissue.
Robert Kis, in Devecser, said his uncle was taken to Budapest by helicopter after the sludge "burned him to the bone". The flood overturned his wife's car, pushing it 30 metres to the back of the garden, while his van was lifted on to a fence.
The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said that the spill could have been caused by human error; there was no sign of it being due to natural causes. He also told a news conference there was no threat of radiation in the area affected by the flood of red mud.
The Hungarian government has suspended production at MAL Zrt and the company was ordered to repair the damaged reservoir after the environmental affairs state secretary, Zoltan Illes, called the spill an "ecological catastrophe".
There are fears that the sludge could reach the Raba and Danube rivers.