At least 15 dead, hundreds of homes destroyed after Mount Nyiragongo eruption

Debris from Mount Nyiragongo.
(Image credit: Justin Katumwa/AFP via Getty Images)

Hundreds of homes and buildings near Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been destroyed, buried by lava that spewed from the volcano when it erupted on Saturday night.

A government spokesman on Sunday said at least 15 people are dead, including nine who were killed in a traffic accident as they tried to flee the area and four others who died while trying to escape from a prison. It is expected that the death toll will rise once authorities reach the hardest-hit areas, BBC News reports. UNICEF said 150 children were separated from their families during the chaos, and another 170 are feared missing.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.