Volcano Villarrica spits fire over Chile
Print Edition
VOLCANO Villarrica in southern Chile erupted in the early hours of yesterday, sending a plume of ash and lava high into the sky, and forcing the evacuation of nearby communities.
The volcano, located near the popular tourist resort of Pucon, about 750 kilometers south of the capital Santiago, is one of South America’s most active. It last erupted in 2000.
A column of ash and rock particles shot up to 3km into the sky overnight. Although the initial violent eruption was short-lived, intermittent clouds of steam and gas continued to issue from the volcano.
A major lava flow is not expected, said Luis Lara, head of national geological service Sernageomin yesterday morning, but that could change.
“After an eruptive pulse, which was pretty intense but very short at 3am, the volcanic system remains unstable and it is possible that something similar could occur again in the next few hours,” he said.
A total of 3,385 people were evacuated, said Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo. There were no reports of any injuries.
Ash from the volcano was for now well under the flight paths used by commercial airliners, and flights were unaffected, said Juan Carlos Rojas, air transit head at the government’s civil aeronautics division.
Following an emergency meeting with police and military yesterday, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said she would travel to the affected region.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
