By Nneka Nwogwugwu
About 15 persons have died in Congo as torrents of lava poured into villages with little warning.
It has also destroyed more than 500 homes, country’s officials and survivors said Sunday.
According to the U.N. children’s agency, the volcanic eruption of Mount Nyiragongo on Saturday night sent about 5,000 people fleeing from the city of Goma across the nearby border into Rwanda, while another 25,000 others sought refuge to the northwest in Sake.
More than 170 children were still feared missing and UNICEF officials said they were organizing transit centers to help unaccompanied children in the wake of the disaster.
Goma ultimately was largely spared the mass destruction it suffered the last time the volcano erupted back in 2002. Hundreds died then and more than 100,000 people were left homeless.
Residents informed that there was little warning before the dark sky turned a fiery red, sending people running for their lives in all directions, NBC news reports.
