Hundreds flee DR Congo volcano for neighbouring Rwanda
At least 3,000 persons have fled an eastern city in the Democratic Republic of Congo for Rwanda on Sunday after the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo.
The federal government ordered an evacuation following the volcano, which overlooks the regional capital city Goma, commenced erupting Saturday.
“At least 3,000 persons from Goma, in DRC, have already crossed to Rwanda,” the general public broadcaster the Rwanda Broadcast Organization tweeted citing the latest statistics from Rwanda immigration authorities at the Rwanda-DRC border.
The account also tweeted photographs of folks arriving in Rubavu district in Rwanda, adding that they might be “accommodated in schools and places of worship which have been made ready”.
Rwanda’s ambassador to the DR Congo Vincent Karega tweeted that “the borders are wide open and our neighbours are actually being welcomed peacefully”.
The lava reached the DRC city’s airport early Sunday, with the official from Virunga National Recreation area - where in fact the volcano is located - telling his staff: “the problem is deteriorating”.
Earlier, simply because the volcano began smoking cigarettes a smell of sulfur pervaded Goma metropolis about the shores of Lake Kivu, according to an AFP correspondent.
The regional capital of North Kivu, Goma has almost 600,000 inhabitants, pass on across 12 districts.
The authorities’ evacuation method anticipates that two-thirds of these will head to Rwanda.
The previous major eruption of Nyiragongo goes back to January 17, 2002, and killed more than 100 people, covering almost the entire eastern part of Goma with lava, including half of the airport runway.
