One dead as Chilean volcano spews ash for third day

Smoke rises from Chaiten volcano as the military transport luggage at the local airdrome in Chaiten town, located some 1220 km (760 miles) south of Santiago May 4, 2008.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A volcano spewed ash over Patagonian towns in southern Chile on Sunday, two days after its first eruption in thousands of years forced authorities to evacuate some 4,000 residents.

Local media said an elderly woman died as rescue teams evacuated the last remaining people from the town of Chaiten, close to where the snow-capped volcano of the same name erupted on Friday, triggering earth tremors and sending a cloud of ash two miles into the air.

There is no record of the volcano erupting in the last 2,000 years, according to Chilean geology officials. full story