Santiago - The eruption of the Machimahuida volcano in southern Chile left thousands of people in darkness, as ash saturated the air.
"There was no visibility whatsoever, it seemed like it was night- time," said Arturo Carvallo, the mayor of the town of Futaleufu.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet called for residents to remain calm. In 1991, people in the same area, around the town of Chaiten, saw the Hudson volcano further to the south bury crops, woods and animals under tonnes of ash.