Officials in Hungary fear another toxic mud spill

Authorities have begun to evacuate residents and place soldiers on alert as fears mount that a damaged reservoir wall may unleash a second wave of toxic sludge onto a Hungarian village.



Gyorgi Tottos, the spokeswoman for Hungary's Catastrophe Protection Directorate told the CNN that the cracked wall is expected to collapse but it is not known how soon.



She said a 19-inch crack has developed in the wall of the aluminum plant reservoir.



The spokeswoman said some 8,000 people have been evacuated from the village of Kolontar and hundreds of soldiers were at the ready to rescue inhabitants of a nearby village when the wall collapses.



She said if the wall collapses, 500,000 cubic meters of toxic red sludge could spill out.



That's about half the amount that spilled last Monday, which inundating Kolontar and two other villages.



The spill left seven people dead and more than 100 injured.