DR Congo volcano Nyiragongo sparks health fears over ash
Residents walk near destroyed homes with the smoldering lava deposited by the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo volcano, DR Congo. (Reuters Photo)


After erupting two months ago the DR Congo's Nyiragongo volcano has released large amounts of ash, raising concerns for local residents' health, experts said Sunday.

The volcano in the far east of the vast central African country first erupted on May 22, claiming 32 lives and destroying hundreds of homes.

"The ash is the result of the collapse of part of the Nyirangongo's central crater," volcanologist Muhindo Syavulisembo said in a statement.

Syavulisembo, who heads the Goma Volcano Observatory (OVG), however, ruled out an imminent new eruption.

"There hasn't been visible damage, but we fear respiratory and water-borne illnesses," Samson Buunda, a local civil society representative, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The eruption of Africa's most active volcano displaced nearly 400,000 people, especially after May 27 when scientists warned of a potentially catastrophic blast underneath nearby Lake Kivu.