Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (AP) — Residents sought a missing loved one in a destroyed house on the outskirts of the city of Goma in eastern Congo on Monday.

Mount Nyiragongo turned the dark sky into a fiery red on Saturday night with little warning, spewing lava torrents into the village, killing at least 15 people and destroying more than 500 homes, officials and survivors said. It was.

Sadness, distrust and fear struck the area when seven government ministers, including the Congolese Prime Minister and the Minister of Health, visited Goma.

Smoke rose from the cooling lava that covered part of the Nyiragongo area. Some people walked on the crust of lava.

Scientists at the Goma Volcano Observatory were unable to fully warn the public about the eruption due to reduced funding, said Celestin Casereka Mahinda, the observatory’s chief scientist.

“The observatory is no longer backed by the central government or outside donors, which explains why the eruption of the volcano was so surprising,” Mahinda told The Associated Press. He said the coronavirus pandemic broke the partnership between the government and the World Bank, which supported the observatory, in October 2020, making the observatory even unavailable to the Internet.

The observatory had just resumed operations last month thanks to new funding from the US Geological Survey’s Volcano Disaster Assistance Program. This means that the observatory can collect data at least after the eruption.

He said the volcano was still active and the quake was recorded, calling on residents to remain vigilant.

A government minister who visited Goma on Monday was assessing what help was needed for those injured by the eruption, including Prime Minister Jean-Michel Samalconde.

“After the volcanic eruption that caused great damage to the city, the government team explicitly sent it here to Goma,” said Minister of Public Health Jean-Jacques Mubungani. “It is important to have a strong signal from our government. We will be able to discuss with the military governor and all stakeholders and identify a quick solution for the people.”

The eruption of the volcano fled about 5,000 people from a region of Sesame, a city of about 2 million people, across the nearby border to Rwanda. According to the United Nations Children’s Bureau, another 25,000 people have fled northwest of sake.

Still afraid that more than 170 children will be missing, UNICEF officials have reportedly separated more than 150 children from their families, leaving unaccompanied children after the disaster. He said he was organizing a transportation center to help.

Goma eventually escaped most of the massive destruction caused by the mountains. The last eruption of Nyiragongo in 2002. Hundreds of people have since died and more than 100,000 have lost their homes.

Goma is a regional hub for many humanitarian agencies and a United Nations peacekeeping operation. Much of the eastern part of Congo is threatened by numerous armed groups competing for the management of favorable mineral resources in the region.