In Baranya county, near the Yugoslav section of the Danube, experts are currently investigating the origin of a chemical that leaked into a Beda backwater then into the river.
National Park guards found the first bodies of fish, carp and Amur (vegetable-eating fish of Asian origin) to over 50lb yesterday afternoon.
This morning the whole of the Beda backwater was covered with bodies. First estimates reckon eight to ten tons of fish have died.
An immediate investigation has been launched. Water and fish samples have been taken and sent to a laboratory to discover the cause.
Gabor Toeroek, head of the department of the Danube-Drava National Park claimed that, according to experts, the disaster was caused by poisoning.
‘They are currently trying to find out if there was a chemical leak from nearby factories that seeped into the river.’ He said.
It is believed the pollution has destroyed the entire environment of the fishing paradise, which is famous throughout the country.
Source: Hungarian Radio, Budapest, 1000 GMT, 10 Oct 2000
