Santiago - The Chaiten volcano in southern Chile was spewing lava and large quantities of ash Tuesday as the last 100 residents remaining in the nearby town of Chaiten were evacuated by sea, the daily El Tiempo reported citing authorities.

"The Chaiten volcano, erupting since Friday, has started an explosive phase and the evacuation of people from the town of the same name must be complete," said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

Bachelet, who visited the area Sunday and Monday, cancelled a meeting Tuesday at the presidential palace in Santiago in order to oversee the situation some 1,000 kilometres south of the capital.

Some of the evacuees were temporarily taken by helicopter to the Argentine province of Chubut, across the Andes.

The last of the evacuees, in turn, were to be taken by sea from Chaiten to the Chilean city of Puerto Montt in Chilean Navy ships.

According to experts at the Chilean National Geology and Mining Service, the Chaiten volcano has reached the climax of its eruption.

Over 1,000 metres high, Chaiten had been inactive for more than 400 years before it errupted on Friday spewing ash into the atmosphere, covering nearby villages and forests.

Some 8,000 of the area's 12,000 residents had been evacuated before Tuesday. Rescue workers and journalists also left Chaiten, which usually has a population of about
4,000.

The area has been covered in ash for days, in some areas up to 30- centimetres deep, which in some cases has become a thick crust due to the effect of the rain. (dpa)