Nyiragongo: the shocking images of the sudden eruption of the Congolese volcano

Thousands of people had to flee their homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after the eruption of the Mount Nyiragongo volcano on Saturday afternoon.

As red smoke filled the air and rivers of lava flowed down the hillside, fears began to spread that the deadly tragedies of the past would be repeated. After the disaster, andhe government of the DRC ordered the evacuation of the city of Goma, located in the east of the country and on the border with Rwanda.

Lava reached the city’s airport early Sunday morning. An official at Virunga National Park, where the volcano is located, told his staff: “The situation is deteriorating.”

The power grid has suffered power cuts in large areas, and a road connecting Goma to the town of Beni was engulfed by lava. There was also earthquake reports.

Its two million inhabitants must have left everything behind in a surgery massive evacuation, but over the hours, some residents were able to return home.

Much of the city has been saved. The volcano, located 10 km from Goma, last erupted in 2002. He then killed 250 people and left 120,000 homeless.

For the time being, the authorities have not published an official register of the victims of this eruption and it is not known how many houses were damaged. Nyiragongo is an active stratum volcano with an altitude of 3470 meters in the Virunga National Park, about 10 km north of the city of Goma and Lake Kivu.

Virunga National Park, established in 1925 as Albert National Park, has an area of ​​7,800 km2 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The park employs approximately 500 rangers fight against poachers and illegal charcoal producers. “The lava flow stopped around 4 am in Buhene (a town on the outskirts of Goma town), in Nyiragongo territory. From the wee hours of the morning, the inhabitants return to their homes in the districts which they have abandoned at night, ”confirmed the country’s Ministry of Communication and Media via Twitter.

“Areas on the outskirts of Goma have been destroyed, the inhabitants “will have to be relocated”, assured EFE Tom peyre-costa, Regional spokesperson for West and Central Africa for the Norwegian Refugee Council, who was in town.

“The populations who had fled to Rwanda are already back, but the great desolation is that they find their homes and other burnt goods, and the same for those who had fled to Sake, ”he said. EFE by telephone Prince Badjeka, a resident of Goma.

BBC Mundo