The Nyiragongo volcano in North Kivu province in northeastern Congo (DRC) erupted on May 22, local time. At least 15 people have been killed and more than 500 houses have been destroyed. Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes and lava has even flowed to the airport .

  Congo (DRC) government spokesman Muyaya said that the Nyiragongo volcano began to erupt at around 7 pm local time on the 22nd.

The eruption caused a certain degree of panic in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, and its surrounding areas. Thousands of local residents crossed the border and fled to neighboring Rwanda.

  UNICEF said on the 23rd that about 5,000 people fled from Goma to Rwanda, and another 25,000 took refuge in the city of Sark in the northwest.

  In addition, more than 170 children are still missing. UNICEF officials said they are organizing transfer centers to help unaccompanied children after the disaster.

  The person in charge of the Goma Volcano Observatory also stated on the 22nd that the volcanic lava is slowly flowing to the city of Goma, but it will not pose a major threat.

  A spokesperson for the North Kivu Provincial Government said that as the direction of volcanic activity is still unpredictable, the provincial government has organized the people in Goma to evacuate the dangerous areas in an orderly manner.

  Nyiragongo volcano is about 18 kilometers away from the city of Goma. It is located in the Virunga Mountains on the border of Congo (Kinshasa), Uganda and Rwanda. It is a more active volcano in Africa.

Nyiragongo volcano erupted on a large scale in 2002, causing most of Goma to be covered by volcanic lava, and more than 500,000 people fled their homes.

(Producing Zhou Jing)

Editor in charge: [Wang Kai]