Southern Chile's Calbuco volcano has erupted for the first time in nearly half a century, spewing a giant funnel of ash 10km into the sky and prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency.
Officials ordered an evacuation for a 20km radius around the volcano and the Interior Ministry rushed in the army to temporarily take control of the province of Llanquihue and the town of Puerto Octay.
Emergency measures were also in place in neighbouring Argentina, where officials in the picturesque city of Bariloche - about 100km from the volcano - said they were expecting the arrival of ash clouds within hours and warned people to stay at home.
Puerto Montt, over the border from Bariloche and the largest Chilean city in the area, was already blanketed in a cloud of ash.
"People are very, very frightened," said Gervoy Paredes, Mayor of Puerto Montt. "The situation is pretty complicated," he added, saying reports indicated the Blanco River was flooding because of ice melt triggered by the eruption.
