Dam of death

YUGOSLAV engineers are working desperately to ease the pressure on a damaged dam in Montenegro, to prevent the release of millions of tonnes of toxic mining sludge into the Danube and other Balkan rivers. Senior officials working on the dam'say the impact would be "disastrous as it would poison the, river, killing fish and other aquatic life". The engineers have completed a new support dam and are dredging another channel in the river Tara as part of their efforts to avert this ecological disaster.

The UN disaster relief agency in Geneva has mobilised international support and is coordinating relief work. The agency contends, however, that the situation is still very risky.