CHAITEN, Chile — The Chaiten volcano spewed light ash on a nearly deserted village Saturday, two days after its first eruption in thousands of years. No more than 45 of Chaiten’s 4,500 residents remained in what looked like a ghost town — its streets, houses, cars and trees draped with a thick layer of light-colored ash, said Interior Minister Edmundo Perez.
Those who decided to stay after Thursday’s eruption could be seen wearing face masks outdoors in Chaiten, 750 miles south of the capital, Santiago. Street lights were illuminated under darkened skies.
Just 6 miles away, the volcano belched smoke plumes that rose as high as 12 miles into the air, the government’s Emergency Bureau said. Winds carried the ash to other towns in the region and across the Andes mountains to Argentina, where two airlines suspended flights because of poor visibility.
Authorities evacuated most of Chaiten’s residents to the nearby cities of Puerto Montt and Castro. “It is very difficult to predict when the people will be able to return,” Perez said. The Associated Press
