KOLONTAR, Hungary — The concentration of toxic heavy metals where Hungary's massive red sludge spill entered the Danube has dropped to the level allowed in drinking water, authorities said Friday.
The test results released by the National Catastrophe Management Directorate further allay concerns that the river would be significantly polluted.
Also Friday, the disaster's confirmed death toll rose from four to seven. An 81-year-old man died from injuries sustained in the torrent and two bodies were found on the outskirts of the village of Devecser.
The red sludge devastated creeks and rivers near the spill site and entered the Danube on Thursday, moving downstream toward Hungary's immediate neighbors, Croatia, Serbia and Romania.