On 4th October 2010, the dam of a 10-ha-large tailings reservoir of Hungarian Aluminium Ltd. (MAL Ltd.), an alumina factory based near the Hungarian town of Ajka, ruptured. The reservoir had been set up to store the thickened tailings from alumina refining. The dam break released between 600,000 and 700,000 cubic metres of red sludge, which rolled down in a wave 2.5 metres high, burying human settlements on its way.
The villages of Kolantar, Devecser and Somlovasarhely were hardest hit, but also some 1,000 hectares of arable land, meadows, forests and nature protection areas were flooded. Nine people died and 150 were injured in the accident.
The exact cause that led to the catastrophe could not be identified to date. Hungarian government sources say the disaster was not caused by a flood or an earthquake. Experts familiar with local conditions, however, believe that the dam structure had been improperly maintained and monitored.
(Source: aqua press Int. 4/2010, Mag. Christof Hahn)
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