The shocking images of the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Residents of the city of Goma, capital of North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), who fled on Saturday evening after the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano, gradually returned home after the ‘lava stop.

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 home to the neighborhoods they abandoned at night. “, confirmed the country’s Ministry of Communication and Media via Twitter.

“The lava stopped in Buhene, on the outskirts of Goma. The city has been saved, ”said the military governor of North Kivu province, General Constant Ndima, in statements collected by the Congolese news portal Actualité.

Although Goma was not affected, the eruption caused severe property damage in surrounding towns, particularly in Buhene, where several houses were washed away by volcanic lava.

At around seven in the afternoon local time (4 p.m. GMT) on Saturday, the eruption of the volcano began, which is one of the most active in the world and is usually promoted by tourists who want to contemplate the lava lake. housed in its crater, confirmed volcanologist Célestin Kasereka Mahinda, who heads the city’s Volcanoes Observatory.

At first, the scientist said that “due to the direction of the lava it does not look like it will enter Goma but people are scared and they move”.

Later, however, a new breach opened in the volcano that appeared to threaten the city, triggering panic among thousands of people who fled to the border with Rwanda – some 8,000, according to the Rwandan ministry for human rights management. emergencies – or west to Sake Town.

Although there have been no deaths or injuries from lava burns to date, five people have died in a traffic accident while fleeing along the road that connects Sake to Goma, as confirmed today. hui in statements to local media by the military governor of North Kivu, Constant Ndima.

Asimismo, quedaron destruidas áreas de las afueras de Goma, cuyos inhabitants “tendrán que ser reubicados”, aseguró por vía telefónica desde la ciudad Tom Peyre-Costa, portavoz regional para África Central y Occidental del Consejo de Refugiados Nor susiglas en English). “The populations who had fled to Rwanda are already back but the great desolation is that they find their houses and other property burned down, and so are those who had fled to Sake,” said Prince Badjeka, a resident of Goma.

More than 5,000 people who have escaped in recent hours are already returning from Gisenyi, Rwanda.

This morning, the Congolese government announced the activation of an evacuation plan but, according to Peyre-Costa, “now there is no evacuation from the city because the volcanic activity is over”.

Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya assured his Twitter account that “the assessment of the humanitarian situation is underway”.

On May 11, the Observatory warned in a report on the situation of the volcanoes of the Virunga range, the The carrier and the Nyiragongo, that both “are very active, especially the Nyiragongo, where some sporadic hybrid earthquakes are observed ”.

Nyiragongo volcano last erupted in 2002, when lava destroyed large areas of Goma. Forcing some 300,000 people to flee the lava “floods” and 250 lost their lives, while the eruption destroyed the homes of 120,000 others.

The Virunga, located in the province of North Kivu (east), one of the most affected by violence in the DRC, is one of the few tourist destinations in this Central African country and has been a World Heritage Site since 1979 .

(with information from EFE and EP)

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