At least 13 people have been killed after the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo volcano on Saturday night in the north-eastern province of North Kivu of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to provincial authorities.
In a statement to the press, the army spokesman for the provincial military governor's office, Njike Kaiko Guillaume, said that the 13 people were killed while fleeing the threats of lava.Nine people were killed in a truck rollover accident and the other four victims were prisoners trying to break the Munzenze central prison in Goma, the spokesman said.
The DRC's authorities have not yet released the assessment of the collateral damage caused by the eruption.
The government spokesman Patrick Muyaya urged residents to avoid non-essential activities while seismic activity in the area could still cause damage.
Helicopters of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC made constant reconnaissance flights after the eruption over the crater to closely monitor the situation.
Around 3,000 people fled Goma for neighboring Rwanda on Sunday after the Nyiragongo volcano, which overlooks the city of Goma and is not far from the DRC's border with Rwanda, started to erupt on Saturday night.
According to local authorities, the lava flow came to a stop at around 4 a.m. local time on Sunday morning on the outskirts of Goma, while local residents started returning to their homes in abandoned neighborhoods overnight. (ANI/Xinhua)
( With inputs from ANI )
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