City narrowly avoids destruction as Democratic Republic of the Congo volcano erupts

Mount Nyiragongo is one of the world's most active volcanoes

This aerial view shows debris engulfing buildings in Bushara village after nearby Mount Nyiragongo erupted, sending thousands to flee eastern Democratic Republic of Congo overnight. AFP

People gather on a stream of cold lava rock following the overnight eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. AP

Residents pick up remains of their destroyed homes from the smouldering lava deposited by the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo volcano near Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters

Aerial view shows the area affected by lava from the Mount Nyiragongo volcano eruption in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters

Residents are seen standing next to destroyed structures near smouldering ashes early morning in Goma in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo following the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo. AFP

Men cross the front of the still smoking lava rocks from an eruption of the Mount Nyiragongo in Goma in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo. AFP

A resident attempts to douse a burning building set alight by lava from the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo volcano, near the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday. Reuters

Flames engulf a building as a river of molten lava flows into the suburbs of Goma, following the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, in eastern DRC, near the border with Rwanda. Reuters

A view from Tchegera Island on Lake Kivu in the east of the DRC shows lava spewing from Mount Nyiragongo and illuminating the night sky. AFP

Two figures are silhouetted against a night sky turned red by the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo. AP

Goma residents flee as a river of lava from Mount Nyiragongo flows into the suburbs of the city that is home to two million people. AFP

Goma residents evacuate the city following the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo. Its previous eruption, in 2002, killed 250 people and left 120,000 homeless. AFP

A Goma resident holds a lump of cooled lava, while a river of molten lava flows past in the background. Reuters

Goma residents sleep on the pavement in Gisenyi, Rwanda, after fleeing their homes across the border in the DRC when Mount Nyiragongo erupted. AFP

Goma residents wait to cross the border from the DRC to Gisenyi, Rwanda, as they flee a river of lava spewing from Mount Nyiragongo. AFP

A child sits on the kerb of the Petite Barriere border point between Goma in the DRC and Gisenyi in Rwanda. AFP

Goma residents wait to cross into Rwanda. The government announced an evacuation on Saturday night, though many people had already fled. AFP

A child sleeps after fleeing across the border of Democratic Republic of Congo to Gisenyi, Rwanda, after Mount Nyiragongo erupted. Rwandan authorities reported that 3,000 people made the crossing. AFP

Thousands of people fled after a volcano erupted on Saturday evening near the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Goma residents, recalling Mount Nyiragongo's last eruption in 2002, which killed 250 people and left 120,000 homeless, grabbed belongings and fled.

But by Sunday afternoon, it appeared lava flows were not threatening the city and some residents decided to return.

But thousands had fled the world's most active volcano by early Sunday – at least 3,000 people had crossed the border to the city of Gisenyi, according to Rwandan authorities.

The Rwanda Broadcast Agency tweeted photos of those arriving in Rubavu district, adding they would be "accommodated in schools and places of worship that have been made ready".

There were no reports of casualties.

On Sunday, Reuters news agency reported that the lava river appeared to have halted a few hundred metres from the edge of Goma, which is 10 kilometres from the volcano.

"Local authorities who have been monitoring the eruption overnight report that the lava flow has lost intensity," government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said on Twitter on Sunday.

Evacuation plans

Earlier, in the capital Kinshasa, Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde had convened an emergency meeting where the government activated an evacuation plan for Goma.

Meanwhile, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi said he would cut short his stay in Europe to return home on Sunday to supervise the co-ordination of aid.

But the first departures from Goma came even before the official confirmation that Mount Nyiragongo had erupted at around 7pm.

Fears of 2002 repeat 

"The sky has turned red," one resident, Carine Mbala, told AFP.

"There is a smell of sulphur. In the distance you can see giant flames coming out of the mountain," she said.

Resident Richard Bahati said he was incredibly worried about the eruption: "I lived through this volcano problem in 2002.

"The volcano had devastated all our homes and all our possessions. That's why I'm scared again this time."

"There are a lot of people on the road, a lot of cars – it's an escape," one man with his family in his car told AFP.

"It is moving at a snail's pace, on three or four lanes," he said.

"There are children, women, old people who are on foot and the rain is coming. It's complicated."

Goma is home to a large contingent of peacekeepers and staff of Monusco, the UN mission in the country, as well as the base of many NGOs and international organisations.

Several aircraft, belonging to Monusco and private companies, took off in the evening.

Volcano watchers have been worried that the volcanic activity observed in the last five years at Nyiragongo mirrors that in the years preceding eruptions in 1977 and 2002.

Volcanologists at the Goma Volcano Observatory, which monitors Nyiragongo, have struggled to make basic checks on a regular basis since the World Bank cut funding, amid embezzlement allegations.

In a bulletin on May 10, the observatory said there had been increased seismic activity at Nyiragongo earlier in the month.