In the stricken town of Devecser and the village of Kolontar the scene is one of utter devastation. Six people were killed when the tidal wave of mud from Hungary's worst ever chemical accident hit Kolontar soon after midday on Monday.
Another person died in hospital on Friday and one person is still missing. Rescue workers fear their bodies are buried in the deep mud of what used to be the village's fishing pond. Emergency services are working round-the-clock to remove the worst of the toxic red sludge which has damaged houses, yards, streets and farmland.
But the dark red colour and the acrid, bitter smell are all-pervasive.
"I felt like I had arrived on planet Mars," said Balazs Tomori, an activist from the environmental group Greenpeace.
“Start Quote We used to have our own home, now we have to rely on other people”
End Quote Eva Varga Kolontar resident
For 57-year-old Eva Varga, wading through the ruins of her home in Kolontar, the future looks bleak. "Everything is gone, everything we had," she said. "We used to have our own home, now we have to rely on other people.
" Paint peels from the doors where it came into contact with the sludge, which still covers the floor.
Her furniture, fridge and a plant she has tended since her youth stand ankle-deep in the toxic waste. She has just one consolation - when the disaster first struck, she managed to save her pet dog, and carry it to safety on the small hill where the village church stands.
