Wall of Hungarian sludge lake ‘to collapse’

THE wall of a reservoir filled with caustic red sludge will inevitably collapse and unleash a new deluge of red sludge that could flow about 1 kilometre to the north, a Hungarian official said yesterday.

That would flood parts of the town already hit by the industrial waste on Monday, but stop short of the next town to the north.

Environmental State Secretary Zoltan Illes said recently discovered cracks on the northern wall of the reservoir at the alumina plant have temporarily stopped widening because of favourable weather conditions but will continue to expand, especially at night.