SANTIAGO: One of South America’s most active volcanoes erupted early on Tuesday in southern Chile, spewing heavy smoke into the air as lava surged down its slopes, prompting authorities to evacuate thousands of people.
The Villarrica volcano erupted around 3am local time, according to the National Emergency Office, which issued a red alert and ordered evacuations. Local media showed images of the volcano bursting at the top, glowing in the dark amid heavy smoke and rivers of lava.
The 2,847-metre volcano in Chile’s central valley, 670 kilometres south of Santiago, sits above the small city of Pucon, which has a population of about 22,000 people.
Tourists flock there for outdoor activities like kayaking, horseback riding, fishing and hiking around the volcano, which last had a major eruption in 1984. Dozens of tourists were among those evacuated.
President Michelle Bachelet announced that she will travel to the volcano-hit area and asked residents to remain calm.
Chilean authorities had issued an orange alert on Monday because of increased activity at the volcano. About 3,500 people have been evacuated so far, including tourists, said Interior and Security Minister Rodrigo Penailillo. Penailillo warned that the eruption had caused numerous rivers in the area to rise as snow along the sides of the volcano began melting.
The Villarrica has a crater of about 200 meters (yards) in diameter and a lake of lava about 150 meters (yards) deep. It has periodic eruptions every 10 or 15 years. Chile has more than 2,000 volcanoes in the Andes cordillera and about 90 of them remain active.