The city of Goma is located about ten kilometers north of the volcano Nyiragongo. Even so, a lava flow hit part of the city, destroying over six hundred houses.
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The chaos associated with the evacuation of the population claimed at least 11 dead. Five people died in a car accident, four victims are reported from the local prison, the cause of the other two deaths was not specified by the authorities, CNN said.
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A lava flow buried hundreds of houses in the eastern Congolese city of Goma
Photo: Reuters
More than 8,000 people have crossed the border into neighboring Rwanda, according to the country’s Ministry of Emergency Management. They could begin to return on Sunday morning, after the lava flow stopped.
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Hundreds of families have been separated after the chaotic evacuation, according to CNN, and more than 170 children remain missing. The city is also facing power outages and a lack of drinking water.
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Nyiragongo volcano awoke to life on Saturday and caused great horror among the people of Goma. They remember the previous eruption in 2002, which claimed 250 lives and killed 120,000 people.
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Residents of the suburb of Goma near the spilled lava
Photo: Justin Kabumba, CTK / AP
Goma, located in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo near the border with Rwanda, is home to a large number of UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and a number of non-governmental and international organizations.
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Lava from the Nyiragongo volcano (in the background) spilled on the outskirts of Goma
Photo: Justin Kabumba, CTK / AP
