The Chilean authorities have ordered the complete evacuation of two small villages directly threatened by the eruption of a nearby volcano.

Chaiten volcano, around 760 miles (1,220 km) south of the capital of Santiago, began erupting on Friday. The volcanic activity increased rapidly at the Chaiten volcano in the southern Patagonia region, spewing out lava and ash. The volcano erupted after nearly 450 years of no worth-mentioning activity.

"Today the volcano is erupting with pyroplastic material on a different scale," Rodrigo Rojas of the National Emergency Office told Reuters news agency.

"We presume lava is flowing and so have ordered the immediate precautionary evacuation of all civilians, military and press in Chaiten."

The Santiago government ordered the evacuation of nearly 4,000 people from Chaiten, a town located just 6 miles away from the erupting volcano in the Gulf of Corcovado, in southern Chile. Another town about 70km to the east known by the name of Futaleufu is also being evacuated.

The eruption sent a plume of ash as much as 12 miles high in the sky. Carried by the winds, the ash caused panic in several towns and villages as far away as neighboring Argentina.

The Chilean authorities were taken completely by surprise by Chaiten’s eruption although the South American country is known as one of the most volcanic-active countries in the world.
Chile has more than 100 active volcanoes on its territory. Nearly 20 of the country’s volcanoes could erupt at any time, experts said.