Chilean Volcano Prompts Town's Evacuation

The Chaiten volcano spewed lava and blasted ash more than 12 miles into the sky on Tuesday, prompting officials to order a total evacuation of nearby area.

President Michelle Bachelet interrupted a speech in the capital to announce that "the volcano is exploding so a total evacuation of the town of Chaiten has been ordered."

Chaiten is just 6 miles from the volcano in southern Chile.

More than 4,000 people had fled earlier and the few remaining were being transferred to two navy ships.

Palena province Gov. Fernando Aguilar said some people were resisting, but "everybody must leave."

The volcano's five-day eruption already has sent a column of ash streaming across the narrow southern stretch of the continent and over the Atlantic.

Carmen Fernandez, head of the government's Emergency Bureau, said the final evacuation covers 300 people, including police, soldiers, emergency personnel, a few reporters and some residents.

Fernandez said the amount of lava emerging from the volcano "is very small and very thick, so it is moving very slowly."