Authorities in Chile have ordered the immediate evacuation of all remaining residents and journalists from towns close to an erupting volcano in southern Chile today, after lava began spewing from it.
Chaiten volcano, in Patagonia around 1,220km south of the capital of Santiago, began erupting on Friday, sending a towering plume of ash into the sky that has since coated the surrounding area and reached as far as Argentina.
Volcanic ash and steam billowing from the Chaiten Volcano in Chile
Fernando Aguila, governor of the affected Palena province, told local radio lava was flowing and said 180 civilians and around 100 troops remained in Chaiten. Local television reported loud groaning sounds emanating from the volcano.
"The situation has changed suddenly," Rodrigo Rojas of the National Emergency Office said in an interview.
"Today the volcano is erupting with pyroplastic material on a different scale," he added. "We presume lava is flowing and so have ordered the immediate precautionary evacuation of all civilians, military and press in Chaiten."
Authorities have already evacuated around 4,200 people - nearly the whole population - from Chaiten, which is 10km from the volcano.
They are also evacuating a second town, Futaleufu, which lies around 1,300km south of Santiago and has also been coated with ash. The area is some distance from Chile's vital mining industry farther north.
Chilean authorities were caught off guard by the eruption of the 1,000m volcano, long considered inactive. Officials say the volcano had been dormant for thousands of years before Friday.