RENOWNED CHOCOLATE FACTORY SHUT
As the floodwaters receded in the river valleys of industrial eastern Belgium, the smell of cocoa was mixed with the stench of spilled fuel oil and churned up river mud.
Among the many businesses knocked temporarily out of action by the unprecedented inundation was the Galler factory, home to one of the country’s iconic luxury chocolate brands.
Built on the banks of the now churning Vesdre river, in Vaux-sous-Chevremont in Chaudfontaine commune outside the city of Liege, the plant ships high-end bars to aficionados as far away as Japan.
In Belgium, which styles itself the world capital of chocolate, it is accredited to supply the royal court of Philippe, king of the Belgians, alongside the likes of Godiva and Leonidas.
But, after a week of torrential rains sent waves of water surging down the narrow valleys of this former coal-mining area near the German border, part of the front wall of the plant has collapsed.
Tools and workstations are swept into piles, and muddy water has stained the walls 1.8 metres (six feet) above its normal level. “It’s time to take stock,” said Valerie Stefenatto, the 32-year-old communications manager, as she walked the premises in rubber boots, telephone in hand.
“The priority now is to secure the factory and to get the electricity back on, to see if the machines are still working or not.” Vats of raw ingredients had been knocked over or burst and the smell of chocolate drifted through the air.