Volcano Calbuco in southern Chile erupted for the first time in at least four decades on Wednesday, sending a thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometers into the sky, local television images showed.
Chile's Onemi emergency office declared a red alert following the eruption, which occurred about 1,000 km south of the capital Santiago near the tourist town of Puerto Varas.
About 1,500 people were being evacuated from the region, authorities said.
"There are a lot of people out in the streets, many heading to the gas stations to fill up on gas," Derek Way, a resident of Puerto Varas, told Reuters.
Chile, on the Pacific Rim of Fire, has the second-largest chain of volcanoes in the world after Indonesia, including around 500 that are potentially active.
In March, volcano Villarrica, also in southern Chile, erupted in spectacular fashion, sending a plume of ash and lava high into the sky, but quickly subsided.
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