DR Congo volcano eruption leaves death and trail of destruction

Eruption of Mount Nyiragongo killed at least 15, sent 30,000 people fleeing Goma and destroyed more than 500 homes.

Torrents of lava poured into villages after dark in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo with little warning, leaving at least 15 people dead amid the chaos and destroying more than 500 homes, officials and survivors said Sunday. The eruption of Mount Nyiragongo on Saturday night sent about 5,000 people fleeing from the city of Goma across the nearby border into Rwanda, while another 25,000 others sought refuge to the northwest in Sake, the UN children’s agency said Sunday. More than 170 children were still feared missing on Sunday and UNICEF officials said they were organising transit centres to help unaccompanied children in the wake of the disaster.