UN Mission in DR Congo Says Conducted First Rescue Flights After Volcano Eruption

Johannesburg (South Africa), May 24: The United Nations organization stabilization mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO) confirmed to Sputnik on Sunday that it has carried out first rescue flights following the Nyiragongo volcano eruption.
On Saturday, Nyiragongo volcano, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the town of Goma and Lake Kivu on the DR Congo's border with Rwanda, had started to erupt. About 8,000 Goma residents had reportedly fled the eruption to Rwanda. Congolese civil defence forces began evacuating some of the residents on Sunday.
"We are present in Goma. That is our main operational hub. We have conducted the first rescue flights. We are today assessing the situation and, as a matter of principle, we are supporting authorities in doing everything we can. For now, we are still assessing the damage that was done, but it looks like the lava did not reach Goma Airport or Goma towns," the MONUSCO spokesperson said.
According to the spokesperson, the property damage was limited to the outskirts of Goma.
Locals said earlier in the day that over 100 people may have died in Goma because of the eruption.
The Mount Nyiragongo active volcano started erupting at 7 p.m. local time on Saturday (17:00 GMT). The last time a major Nyiragongo eruption occurred was in 2002, when around 250 people were killed and 120,000 were left without homes as lava flows destroyed about 20% of Goma.
Source: Sputnik