Dam of death

YUGOSLAV engineers are working desperatelyto ease the pressure ona damaged dam inMontenegro, to preventthe release of millionsof tonnes of toxic mining sludge into theDanube and otherBalkan rivers. Seniorofficials working on thedam'say the impactwould be "disastrous asit would poison the,river, killing fish and other aquaticlife". The engineers have completeda new support dam and are dredging another channel in the riverTara as part of their efforts to avertthis ecological disaster.

The UN disaster relief agency inGeneva has mobilised internationalsupport and is coordinating reliefwork. The agency contends, however, that the situation is still veryrisky.