Twilight of the gods in Chile
The Calbuco volcano has erupted in southern Chile, spewing huge clouds of ash into the air. Thousands of people have been evacuated. It last erupted in 1972.
Spectacular blast
Smoke and ash billow upwards from Calbuco. Lightening slashes the night sky above the volcano.
No longer dormant
A huge ash cloud still visible from 20 kilometers (12 miles) away formed in the wake of several eruptions. It is moving toward neighboring Argentina, and has disrupted air traffic in the area.
Big surprise
The eruption has astonished even the experts. "It was a surprise for us," says Alejandro Verges, emergency director of the Los Lagos region where the eruption took place. He said Calbuco, which last erupted in 1972, wasn't under any special form of observation.
Red alert
The National Mining and Geology Service issued a high alert, barring access to the area around the volcano. The airport in Puerto Montt, a city with 240,000 inhabitants about 50 kilometers to the west of Calbuco, has been closed, and a curfew imposed for the nighttime.
Ashes carpet the area
President Michelle Bachelet announced she would travel to the affected area on Thursday. The ash could pile up to meter deep in the immediate area around the volcano, the president warned. Calbuco, which has a height of 2,003 meters (6,571 feet) is one of the three most dangerous of Chile's 90 active volcanoes.
Active volcanoes
Just last month, Villarrica volcano, also in southern Chile, erupted, shooting tons of ashes and lava into the skies. The Andean volcano again spewed large amounts of ashes and smoke over Easter.