Latest volcanic eruption triggers red alert in Chile

The Chilean government on Thursday declared a state of "maximum alert" against the latest Calbuco volcanic eruption in the southern region of Los Lagos, adopting precautionary measures to face the emergency.

The latest eruption, the third in eight days, started at about 1:20 p.m. local time (1620 GMT) Thursday. In the past week, the eruption has poured rocks, ashes and smoke that have reached the Chilean capital city of Santiago and even as far as Argentina and Uruguay.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said that her government will work ceaselessly to face the consequences of the new eruption.

Bachelet said she gave full support to "all of our fellow citizens who are being affected, and we commit to work with no rest to address this emergency as soon as possible."

As the National Geology and Mining Service predicted, the Calbuco volcano is again active and about 1,500 people will be evacuated from the areas closest to the volcano.

Currently, the massive volcano cloud was smaller than the one from the first eruption registered just a few days ago.

Chilean Deputy Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy said that all established measures are being adopted, urging people who are still in the radio exclusion area to "follow police and armed force instructions."

After 40 years of calmness, the first eruption of Calbuco volcano last week led the government to launch security measures. Endi