Twin blasts from the Calbuco volcano in southern Chile sent vast clouds of ash into the sky, covering this small town with thick soot and raising concerns that the dust could contaminate water, cause respiratory illnesses and ground more flights.
Ensenada, in the foothills of the volcano, looked like a ghost town on Thursday but for an occasional horse or dog roaming its only street. Most of the 1, residents had evacuated after the initial eruption on Wednesday, with only about 30 people refusing to leave out of worry for their homes and animals. Daniel Patricio Gonzalez left with his wife, seven-year-old son, and twins aged six and four, but returned on Thursday night to assess the damage.
The roof at the restaurant he manages had caved in from the weight of the mounting ash. The volcano erupted on Wednesday afternoon for the first time in more than four decades, spewing out a plume of ash more than six miles high 10km.
Emergency officials were taken by surprise and had only a few minutes to issue an alert. Calbuco had another spectacular outburst early on Thursday with lightning crackling through a dark sky turned reddish orange by the explosion.
Winds blew ash in a widening arc across to Argentina. No injuries were reported and the only person reported missing since the eruption was located on Thursday. Authorities evacuated 4, people as gas and ash continued to spew, and they closed access to the area around the volcano, which lies near the cities of Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt, miles south of Santiago.
