Two of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s most prolific wildlife traders have been handed jail terms this year, in a rare spell of conservation wins for Congolese law enforcement. Salomon Mpay 51, was arrested at a Kinshasa hotel on Jan. 30, following a two-year joint investigation between the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature […]
AN aerial view shows debris engulfing buildings in a village near Goma. AFP
GOMA: A river of red-hot lava came to a halt on the outskirts of Goma on Sunday, sparing the city in eastern DR Congo from disaster after the nighttime eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano sent thousands of terrified residents fleeing in panic.
Fire and fumes emanated from the blackish molten rock as it swallowed up houses, heading towards Goma airport on the shores of Lake Kivu and leaving smouldering wreckage in its wake.
But the military governor of North Kivu province said “the city was spared” by a matter of a few hundred metres (yards) after “the lava halted near Buhene on the outskirts of Goma”.
Congo: Pausing For Selfies After Volcano Eruption! Published May 24th, 2021 - 09:54 GMT
Thousands of residents of east Democratic Republic of Congo return to Goma, after the river of lava from the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo volcano halts (Twitter)
Highlights
But the military governor of North Kivu province said the city was spared by a matter of a few hundred yards after the lava halted near Buhene on the outskirts of Goma .
Owners of homes that were caught up in a volcanic eruption paused to take selfies in front of their burning properties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Also Read
Daily Monitor
Monday May 24 2021
Congolese fleeing from Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), sleep with their belongings on a street after the Nyiragongo volcano erupted near the border in Gisenyi, Rwanda, on May 23, 2021.PHOTO/ AFP
Summary
People had begun fleeing Goma city even before official confirmation that Nyiragongo had erupted at around 7:00 pm Saturday.
Nyiragongo last erupted on January 17, 2002, killing more than 100 people and covering almost all of the eastern part of Goma with lava, including half of the airport s landing strip.
Advertisement
A river of red-hot lava stopped Sunday on the edge of Goma, sparing the eastern DR Congo city from disaster after an overnight eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano sent thousands of terrified residents fleeing in panic.