Volcano landslide kills 46 people in the Congo

A landslide on the slopes of a volcano has killed 46 people and washed away more than 200 homes, the UN peacekeeping mission said yesterday.

The disaster, on the slopes of Nyrangongo volcano at Kibumba, in North Kivu province where the army is trying to oust Rwandan Hutu rebels, was triggered when rivers overflowed at the volcanic peak at the weekend following heavy rains.

The mountain, which overlooks the provincial capital Goma, is one of two active volcanoes that have regularly erupted and spewed lava in recent years, killing scores in 2002.