Calbuco volcano spews giant tower of ash in Chile

Apr. 22, 2015, 7:33 PM EDT

By NBC News and Reuters

Chile’s Calbuco volcano erupted on Wednesday, belching a giant funnel of ash high into the sky near the southern port city of Puerto Montt and triggering a red alert.

Authorities ordered an evacuation for a six-mile radius around the volcano, which is about 600 miles south of the capital Santiago. It is the second substantial eruption in southern Chile since March 3, when the Villarrica volcano emitted a brief but fiery burst of ash and lava.

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.

This view from Frutillar, southern Chile, shows a high column of ash and lava spewing from the Calbuco volcano, on April 23, 2015. AFP – Getty Images

Smoke and ash rise from the Calbuco volcano as seen from the city of Puerto Montt, April 22, 2015. The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile erupted for the first time in more than five decades on Wednesday, sending a thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometres into the sky. REUTERS

View from Puerto Varas, southern Chile, of a high column of ash and lava spewing from the Calbuco volcano, on April 22, 2015. AFP – Getty Images

Children watch the Calbuco volcano erupt, from Puerto Varas, Chile, April 22, 2015. AP

Smoke and ash rise from the Calbuco volcano as seen from the city of Puerto Montt, April 22, 2015. Reuters

General view of Chilean Calbuco volcano from Puerto Montt, located at 1000 km (about 621 miles) south of Santiago de Chile, Chile, on April 22, 2015. EPA

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Calbuco volcano spews giant tower of ash in Chile

Calbuco volcano spews giant tower of ash in Chile

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