Volcano in Eastern DRC Erupts, Triggering Panic in Goma

GOMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO - Mount Nyiragongo in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the world's most active volcanoes, erupted Saturday, sending panicked residents of the nearby city of Goma fleeing, although a volcanologist said the city did not appear to be in danger.

People grabbed mattresses and other belongings and fled toward the frontier with neighboring Rwanda as a red glow filled the sky above the city. Dario Tedesco, a volcanologist in the lakeside city of around 2 million, told Reuters that Goma did not appear to be at risk, and lava appeared to be flowing east in the direction of the Rwandan border. Earlier he had said he thought lava might hit Goma, but he later said this was not the case. "I can see high lava fountains,” Tedesco told Reuters.