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Volcano Erupts, Thousands Flee

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The Associated Press

Published: May 3, 2008

SANTIAGO, Chile - Authorities evacuated hundreds of people from villages in southern Chile on Friday after a snowcapped volcano considered dormant for thousands of years erupted, sending minor earthquakes rippling through the region.

The 3,550-foot Chaiten volcano belched fire and ash Thursday night, causing more than 60 small tremors in the Los Lagos region, 750 miles south of the capital, Santiago, the government's Emergency Bureau said. Mild seismic activity could continue for several days, said bureau director Carmen Fernandez.

Chile's government declared a state of emergency, evacuating as many as 1,500 people from nearby villages and the town of Chaiten, about six miles from the volcano, the bureau said.

Ash from the eruption was polluting water supplies and prompted officials to hand out more than 10,000 protective masks, Interior Minister Edmundo Perez said.

Winds also carried ash over the Andes mountains to neighboring Argentina, where the Education Ministry suspended classes in several towns.

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