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Explosion kills 100 in Goma

Monday 21 January 2002 01:00 GMT
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An explosion at a gas station in Goma has killed up to 100 people who were trying to siphon fuel.

An explosion at a gas station in Goma has killed up to 100 people who were trying to siphon fuel.

Monday morning's explosion in the Congolese city is believed to have been caused by lava from the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, which has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee the city.

The people were trying to steal gas and diesel fuel when the tanks ignited and sent flames shooting 100ft into the air. Hours later the building was still ablaze and rescuers were unable to reach the site.

The station is located near one of the main lava flows, but the lava has cooled enough for people to walk across it. They were using plastic containers to collect the fuel and carry it back.

Many residents of Goma fled to neighboring Rwanda after Thursday's eruption which has destroyed nearly half of the city. Just one–third of the the 500,000 residents remained.

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