Send-off in Munich: Christoph Günter (2nd right, Deputy Executive Chairman) and Knorr-Bremse colleagues load up the supplies.

On Monday, October 4, 2010 the dam wall of a chemical waste reservoir at an alumina plant near Kolontár in Hungary collapsed.

Around midday a wave of mud up to three meters high flooded more than 40 square kilometers of land, covering everything with toxic red sludge. Seven people lost their lives, 150 were injured – some of them seriously – houses and villages were destroyed and fields and harvests were devastated. The full extent of the disaster is not yet known, as red sludge is a highly toxic waste product from the process of alumina production.

Together with Knorr-Bremse Global Care, the Knorr-Bremse sites in Budapest and Kecskemét organized and funded an emergency relief package worth EUR 75,000. Freight company Kühne und Nagel offered its services to transport it to Hungary free of charge, and the package was dispatched from Knorr-Bremse Munich on Friday, October 8 and distributed the very next day. It consisted of basic supplies such as camp beds, tents, sleeping bags and camping stoves for the relief of those most in need. The helpers on the scene were also equipped with protective suits and special rubber boots designed to withstand the strongly alkaline mud.

The fact that the aid package could be put together at such short notice is due to the efforts of colleagues at our sites in Munich and Hungary – and Global Care is most grateful to them for this.

On the road: By Friday October 8, 2010 the aid package was on its way to Hungary. The picture shows the blankets.

Ready for loading: The mobile generator and, in the background, the special protective clothing.