A reconnaissance flight by a UN helicopter appeared to show the lava was not flowing toward Goma or any major population centers, the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) said in a statement.
“There is eruption activities at the Nyiragongo mountain,” the statement said. “However, the lava of the volcano is flowing towards Rwanda. Goma city and its environs are safe. All are advised to continue to monitor the situation.”
The volcano started to erupt on Saturday evening, the DRC government and the Goma Volcano Observatory told CNN. The DRC government has called for calm.
The 11,500-foot-high volcano is one of several near the DRC’s border with Rwanda and Uganda, an area of tropical rain forest and rare mountain gorillas.
Goma is on the edge of Lake Kivu on the Democratic Republic of Congo’s border with Rwanda.