Kunio Okamura recently took a boat ride on the lake to inspect degassing facilities and also visited victims of the 1986 gas disaster.

Soon after arriving in Lake Nyos in Fungom Subdivision, Menchum Division, about 114 km from Bamenda, the North West Regional headquarters on February 3, 2016, the Japanese Ambassador to Cameroon, His Excellency Kunio Okamura, took a boat on the lake. He later spent the night in a degassing research camp overlooking the lake – becoming the first ever ambassador to do so.

accompanied by scientists from the Institute of Geological and Mining Research, IRGM, and the SATREPS NyMo degassing project, the Ambassador asked and received explanations on progress so far made in almost 30 years of monitoring volcanic activities on the lake since the August 21, 1986 deadly gas disaster. Dr Gregory Tanyileke of IRGM served as main guide, explaining the functioning of the three degassing fountains installed into the lake to evacuate the concentration of CO2 under water.

Backed by Prof. Muniro Kusakabe, a long-time Japanese researcher on the lake since 1986, the two experts offered explanations on sensors under water that are able to produce data on any impending volcanic danger. IRGM Director, Dr Joseph Victor Hell, was also on hand to provide an overview of the five-year degassing project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA. The project comes to an end in March 2016, with IRGM expected to handle monitoring activities alone while sourcing for alternative funding.