Village a write-off after toxic sludge spill

Hungary’s prime minister visited one of the villages inundated by red sludge and declared the worst-hit area a write-off today.

Prime minister Viktor Orban said he sees “no sense” in renovating houses made uninhabitable by the torrent that poured from a breached reservoir at a nearby alumina factory on Monday, flooding three villages in western Hungary.

Local officials said 34 houses in the village of about 800 were so badly damaged by the caustic slurry that they cannot be refurbished. Mr Orban was speaking today after an unannounced dawn visit to Kolontar.

There are fears that the toxic torrent will cause serious ecological damage to the Danube after being carried downstream by tributaries.

Officials said they expect the sludge to enter Europe’s second-largest river by the weekend or early next week.