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A farmer, wearing a face mask to protect himself from volcanic ash - Reuters
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May 09, 2008, 06:15
Chile ordered holdout residents to flee from an erupting volcano yesterday, in the remote region of Patagonia and vowed to force them out if they refused to obey.
The military evacuated a small contingent of troops and journalists from near Chaiten volcano in southern Chile before dawn yesterday, after it spat out fiery material.
But some civilians refused to leave two villages near the volcano that began erupting last week, for the first time in thousands of years. It has spewed ash that has reached the Atlantic seaboard and the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.
A strong smell of sulphur hung in the air around the village of Chaiten, just six miles 10km from the volcano. A court has ordered the complete evacuation of a 50km radius of the volcano, a move that gives police permission to use force.
Thousands of people have been evacuated, most by boat or navy warship from the North Chaiten since it can only be accessible by boat or from the air.
"I can't assure you that by the end of the day there will be no one left ... but we are doing all we can to ensure absolutely no one stays in Chaiten," said Gen. Jose Bernales, Chile's police chief.
Determined to stay
The government has also called for the evacuation of the ash-caked town of Futaleufu, 160 km southeast of the volcano but people there are not being required to evacuate.
Some residents said they were determined to stay, a few shovelling ash off their roofs.
"I'm not going because I'm afraid to leave things behind, I have to look after the animals," said 74-year-old farm worker Jose Marciano.
Many of the town's residents have already crossed the nearby border into neighboring Argentina.
Cows left behind in Chaiten nibbled at foliage caked with ash. It had settled on their backs, and on the ground it was compacted in some areas and appeared hard, like cement.
The long-dormant 1 000m volcano lies 1 220 km south of the capital Santiago. It began erupting on Friday and sent a plume of ash some 12 km into the air that is clearly visible on satellite images of South America's southern tip.
Experts say the volcano could continue belching out ash for months and rumble on for years.
Chile has the world's second most-active string of volcanoes behind Indonesia. It is home to 2 000 volcanoes, 500 of which experts say are potentially active. Around 60 have erupted over the past 450 years. - Reuters
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