Dormant volcano erupts after 9,000-year gap

AUTHORITIES evacuated hundreds of people from villages in southern Chile on Friday after a snowcapped volcano, dormant for thousands, of years erupted. The blast sent minor earthquakes rippling through the region.

The 3,550-foot Chaiten volcano belched fire and ash on Thursday night, causing more than 60 small tremors in the Los Lagos region, 1,200kms south of the capital, Santiago, the government’s Emergency Bureau said.

Mild seismic activity could continue for the next several days, said bureau director Carmen Fernandez.