At least 5,000 people have been sent fleeing from their homes and 15 people dead after torrents of lava poured into their villages in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mount Nyiragongo erupted for the first time in nearly two decades, running steaming lava down the hillside towards the eastern city of Goma and destroying not less than 500 homes in its wake.

Nyiragongo’s last eruption in 2002 killed 250 people and left 120,000 homeless in the DRC. It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and is considered among the most dangerous.

According to UNICEF, 170 children are still feared missing while a total of 30,000 people have sought refuge to the northwest in Sake.

Also, Rwanda’s emergency management ministry added that more than 3,500 Congolese crossed the border. Rwandan state media said they would be lodged in schools and places of worship.