Hungarian chemical sludge spill reaches Danube

Toxic red sludge from a spill at an industrial plant in Hungary has reached the River Danube, officials say. They said alkaline levels that killed all fish in one river were now greatly reduced, but were being monitored, reports BBC News.

PM Viktor Orban called the spill an "ecological tragedy." There are fears the mud, which burst out of a reservoir on Monday, could poison the Danube.

Countries downstream from Hungary, including Croatia, Serbia and Romania, are drawing up emergency plans. A million cubic metres (35m cu ft) of the sludge spilled from a reservoir at an alumina plant in Ajka in western Hungary.

Four people were killed and about 100 injured.The mud also caused massive damage in nearby villages and towns, as well as a wide swathe of farmland.