PUERTO MONTT, Chile (AFP) — A volcano in southern Chile erupted with lava and ash Tuesday, forcing authorities to issue a maximum alert and order the surrounding area evacuated, the National Emergency Office Onemi said.
Emergency sirens sounded in the coastal area 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) south of Santiago after the Chaiten volcano delivered a strong blast of lava and cinders. Officials ordered some nearly 400 people including emergency workers and journalists to leave the surrounding area.
"A maximum alert has been decreed," Onemi's Jorge Munoz told AFP in Santiago.
A Chilean air force rescue team was dispatched to the area from Puerto Montt, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) to the north.
An evacuation had been underway since Friday of the nearby town, also named Chaiten, after the volcano began erupting for the first time in recent memory, covering the town's buildings and streets deep in ash.
About 4,000 people were being moved to other towns in the area.
The 1,000-meter (3,280-foot) volcano sits 10 kilometres (six miles) from the town.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet visited the region on Sunday and Monday to oversee the evacuation.
"People at greater risk, elderly people, children, pregnant women and whoever wants to leave voluntarily ... can go to Osorno, where we've set up shelters," Bachelet said in Futaleufu 70 miles (44 miles) to the east, which was buried in up to 30 centimetres (12 inches) of ash.
She said more transportation would be arriving on Tuesday to complete the evacuation.
National Geologic and Mining Service vulcanologist Luis Lara said Monday the Chaiten eruption was very dangerous and could last for months on end.
Wind-blown ash has travelled hundreds of kilometres (miles) as far as Argentina's Chubut province, where town authorities have issued health emergencies, closing down schools, airports and main roads, and have distributed drinking water to some areas.
While no injuries have been reported from the eruption and ash emissions, Radio Cooperativa said a 92-year-old woman died apparently from cardio-respiratory problems during the evacuation of Chaiten on Saturday.
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