This river in Slovenský Raj was used to transport logs from 1750 to 1950.
photo: TASR
PREŠOV - Police from Spišská Nová Ves are combing the Veľká Biela Voda (Great White Water) creek and the surrounding area in the Slovenský Raj (Slovak Paradise) National Park for traces of mercury.
Slovenský Raj is a favourite summer holiday location for both Slovaks and international tourists and is famous for the beauty of its hiking trails, waterfalls, and caves.
According to the Spišská Nová Ves chief of police Vladislav Chroust, the director of the Slovenský Raj National Park received an anonymous letter on February 19 in which the writer announced that he had poured four litres of mercury into the river.
The regional Office for Public Health cooperated with the police in their investigations, providing water samples from the creek to be tested.
Chroust believes that the letter might be in response to the new flats that are being built for Roma between the nearby Hrabušice and Spišský Štvrtok. The police have already started criminal prosecutions in the case for the crimes of blackmail and scaremongering, even though they still do not have a suspect.
