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Volcanic eruption in the Congo: The sky over the megacity of Goma is glowing red
Photo: Justin Kabumba / dpa
The eruption of Mount Nyiragongo volcano in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo caused panic among the population.
As part of the lava flow rolled towards the city of Goma, thousands of people left their homes and fled towards the nearby border with Rwanda.
The active volcano is located in the Virunga National Park, about 20 kilometers north of the city of Goma and thus also near the border with Rwanda. The volcano erupted on Saturday evening around 7 p.m. local time (8 p.m. CEST). Lava flows are currently mainly flowing through parts of the national park, Goma volcanological observatory director Celestin Mahinda told state radio station RTNC. The park is Africa's most biodiverse reserve and home to the endangered mountain gorillas.
According to Mahindas, part of the lava flow is also moving in the direction of Goma. The glowing red lava has already reached the city's airport. It is uncertain whether the lava masses could penetrate the city center or stop beforehand, says the volcanologist Dario Tedesco of the Reuters news agency. New crevices opened in the volcano.
Panic broke out among the approximately two million inhabitants of Goma on Saturday evening. Thousands fled to the border in neighboring Rwanda, where they were initially stopped. Only later did the authorities in the neighboring country open the border and let the refugees pass. In Goma, riots broke out in the central prison during the night, as prisoners evidently feared for their lives after the volcanic eruption. Several shots could be heard from the building complex, as a dpa reporter reported.
Mount Nyiragongo last erupted in 2002.
More than a hundred people had been killed at the time and almost all of the eastern part of Goma had been covered with lava, including half of the runway at Goma Airport.
The Nyiragongo eruption with the most serious consequences so far occurred in 1977, when more than 600 people died.
In the region on the border with Rwanda and Uganda there are a total of six volcanoes over 3000 meters high.
Goma in the province of North Kivu is home to an important base for UN blue helmets.
Many international organizations and non-governmental organizations also work from there.
