At a press conference held in Devecser on Thursday Minister of Defence Dr Csaba Hende, Lieutenant General Tibor Benkő, Chief of Defence Staff of the Hungarian Defence Forces and Anna Nagy government spokeswoman appreciated the hard work done following the red-sludge disaster.

Defence Minister Csaba Hende thanked the soldiers for their heroic work. The minister said he established a foundation to honour those having taken part in recovery and rescue efforts. Lieutenant Tibor Benkő stated that the HDF would stay in Devecser with the strength and techniques necessary. The government spokeswoman said that a total of 2300 soldiers worked in the hard-hit region. Currently as many as 200 soldiers are serving in Devecser and Kolontár using 40 technical devices. On the day of the rupture of the red sludge reservoir two helicopters of the HDF airlifted 23 injured to Budaőrs airport, 10 of them were taken to the Military (Honvéd) Hospital. By using night vision devices designed for reconnaissance in moonlight illumination the HDF prevented further series of disaster.

 “No new cracks have been found on the red-sludge pool, the amount of red sludge dust does not exceed the safe limits, and it is less harmful than the air of the capital on critical days. So far 374 out of 690 residents of Kolontár have decided to move back to their village, “government spokeswoman said. The HDF have helped the villagers start a new life in the hard-hit area. For example one of the HDF’s logistics bases near Kolontár closed four years ago has been refurbished for the victims of the disaster. Minister of Defence has provided 5 flats for families who lost their homes due to the red sludge spill in a village called Meggyeserdőpuszta, close to the devastated region.

 The 37th “Ferenc Rákóczi II” Engineering Battalion has started to build a mixed structure bridge in Kolontár. The 4-ton-capacity bridge will link the village split in two. The other side of Torna stream has become uninhabitable, so it will serve as a memento for the next generation.

Text: Dóra Darnyik