A thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometres into the sky,

Santiago, April 23, 2015( Agencies) :Chile's Calbuco volcano erupts for first time in more than 40 years About 4,000 people were evacuated after the Calbuco volcano in Chile had last erupted in 1972, a media report said on Thursday.The eruption on Wednesday sent a thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometres into the sky, television images showed, Al Jazeera reported.Chile's Onemi emergency office declared a red alert following the eruption, which occurred about 1,000 km south of the capital Santiago near the tourist town of Puerto Varas.Video footage of the first eruption that occurred late in the evening, showed a mushroom-shaped cloud of ash and smoke, that turned red as the sun went down.An evacuation radius of 20 km has been  established, authorities said.Chile's Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo gave a televised address after the volcano erupted, calling for calm.Penailillo said the military was being sent into Llanquihue province to help evacuate people and maintain order..Chile's Calbuco volcano erupted twice in 24 hours, the country's National Geology and Mining Service said early Thursday.The agency said it was evaluating the spectacular nighttime eruption, but indicated it was "stronger than the first one."Authorities issued a red



alert for the towns of Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas in southern Chile. Both are popular tourist destinations.A 12-mile (20 kilometer) exclusion zone was established around the crater. Military and police forces were assisting with the evacuations of about 1,500, according to the Ministry of Interior and Public Safety.American Helen Rodgers witnessed the volcano erupt from the Hotel Patagonico in Puerto Varas, a popular tourist destination.American Helen Rodgers witnessed the volcano erupt from the Hotel Patagonico in Puerto Varas, a popular tourist destination.The first eruption on Wednesday set off a bit of a panic in the region."At the beginning, it was small and later, the cloud grew and later there was a huge cloud over you and true terror starts," said one Puerto Montt resident.Another person said: "It was impressive to see an enormous mushroom cloud, with the immense force of the volcano, and to see the ashes. At that point, there was a lot of panic, lots of chaos, traffic jams, people going to supermarkets, everyone looking for water, trying to take out money from the ATMs."The eruption is a first for many in the region. The last major eruption was 1962. There was a minor eruption in 1972.Calbuco also belched out a bit of gas and smoke in 1996.