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Santiago: The long-dormant Chaiten volcano blasted ash some 30 kilometres into the Andean sky on Tuesday, forcing the last of thousands to evacuate and fouling a huge stretch of the South American continent.
A thick column of ash climbed into the stratosphere and blew eastward for hundreds of kilometres over Patagonia to the Atlantic Ocean, closing schools and a regional airport.
Chilean and Argentine citizens were advised to wear masks to avoid breathing the dangerous fallout.
Chilean officials ordered the total evacuation of Chaiten, a small provincial capital in an area of lakes and glacier-carved fjords just 10 kilometers from the roiling cloud.
Interior Minister Edmundo Perez said anyone still in the area should "urgently head to ships in the bay to be evacuated."
More than 4,000 people were evacuated over the weekend and 350 more headed out on Tuesday.
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