Goma | Monday
BETWEEN 60 and 100 looters were incinerated in Goma on Monday as a large petrol station was ignited by molten lava from nearby Mount Nyirangongo, a rebel leader said.
Azarias Ruberwa, secretary general of the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy which controls the region, said the victims were stealing petrol when the blast occurred in this eastern Democratic Republic of Congo town, followed by several smaller explosions.
The blasts sent a fireballs into the air, leaving a huge black cloud hanging over Goma.
Other press reports indicated that there were no bodies visible outside the building.
The gas station is located near one of the main lava flows, but the lava had cooled enough for people to walk across it. They scooped the fuel into plastic containers and were carrying them to sell on the roadside, the Associated Press reported.
Ruberwa said the deaths were the first to be directly related to the eruption of Mount Nyirangongo, amid conflicting reports that dozens of other people had been killed.
Another RCD offical said 72 people were hospitalised, seven with burn injuries “sustained while crossing hot lava”.
Others have respiratory problems and some were injured in the rush to flee Goma.
The rebel leader said security in the city was “completely in hand” and that soldiers and police had been deployed to deter looting.
“The shooting that you hear is a measure used to intimidate looters,” Ruberwa said after gunfire broke out. – AFP