Officials and survivors said Sunday that lava flowed into villages in eastern Congo after dark with little notice, killing at least 15 people and destroying more than 500 homes.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund, the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo on Saturday night forced around 5,000 people to flee the city of Goma across the nearby Rwandan border, while another 25,000 sought shelter in Sake to the northwest.
More than 170 children were still missing Sunday, according to UNICEF officials, who said they were putting together transit centers to assist unaccompanied children in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Goma was largely spared the devastation wrought by the volcano's most recent eruption in 2002. Hundreds of people died, and over 100,000 people were displaced. Sunday, on the other hand, was marked by sorrow and confusion in outlying villages closer to the volcano.
When the lava flow entered her village, Aline Bichikwebo and her baby were able to flee, but both her mother and father were killed. Community members put the death toll in Bugamba at ten, though provincial officials said it was too early to say how many people died.
Bichikwebo claims she tried to save her father but was unable to carry him to safety before the lava engulfed the family's house.
She clutched her baby and said, "I'm calling for support because everything we had is gone." “We don't even have a pot,” says the narrator. We've been orphans with nothing.”
Since so many homes had caught fire when the lava hit, the air was dense with smoke.
“People are still scared and hungry,” said Alumba Sutoye, a local. “They have no idea where they'll sleep for the night.”
Authorities said at least five more people died in a truck crash while attempting to flee Goma, but the extent of the destruction in some of the hardest-hit areas had yet to be determined.
There was no warning until the dark sky turned a fiery red, sending people fleeing in all directions, according to residents. According to Rwanda's national broadcaster, one woman went into labor and gave birth while fleeing the eruption.
On Sunday, smoke billowed from smoldering lava heaps near the city of Athens.
Innocent Bahala Shamavu said, "We have seen the loss of almost an entire neighborhood." “All of the houses in the Buhene neighborhood were destroyed by fire, which is why we are appealing to all provincial and national authorities, as well as all partners and citizens of good faith around the world, to come to the assistance of this population.”
Witnesses reported that lava had consumed one of the highways linking Goma and Beni. However, unlike in 2002, when lava poured onto the runways, the airport seemed to be spared.
Goma serves as a regional center for several humanitarian organizations as well as the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Although many United Nations peacekeepers and aid workers call Goma home, much of eastern Congo is threatened by a slew of armed groups fighting for control of the region's mineral wealth.
