A volcano in southern Chile is spewing ash over towns two days after its first eruption in thousands of years forced authorities to evacuate some 4,000 residents.
The volcano, near the town of Chaiten, has triggered earth tremors and sent a cloud of ash 3km into the air.
There is no record of the volcano erupting in the last 2,000 years, according to Chilean geology officials.
President Michelle Bachelet visited the area today with several government ministers and said she hoped to fly over the worst-affected areas.
Southern Chile is fragmented into hundreds of small islands and fjords. Some residents had never ventured from Chaiten itself until the 1,000m volcano 10km away forced them to leave.
Chile's 2,000 volcanoes include two of Latin America's most active - Villarica and Llaima. Scientists say some 500 are potentially active. Chile has the world's second most active string of volcanoes behind Indonesia.
