Santiago, Apr 30 (EFE).– Chile’s Calbuco volcano on Thursday began erupting for the third time after two eruptions last week, the National Geology and Mining Service reported.

The cloud of ash emanating from the volcano, located in the southern Los Lagos region, initially rose to three kilometers (1.25 miles) but later receded to 2.5 km (about 1.6 mi.) and began drifting toward the southeast, toward towns that had not been affected by the earlier eruptions, the service said.

Deputy Interior Secretary Mahmud Aleuy confirmed that the latest eruption is seismically much less powerful than the two prior ones, particularly compared with the initial one, when the column of ash rose to a height of 17 km (1.5 mi.).

“This is a pulse that’s rather smaller than those we’ve seen, particularly the first one,” said Aleuy in an appearance before reporters.

“Meanwhile, we should not have greater complications. We have to remain calm, we’re not in a dangerous situation or anything of the kind,” he said.

Aleuy said that all security measures that were implemented starting with the first eruption will remain in place, including the maintenance of an exclusion zone extending for 20 km (12.5 mi.) around the volcano.

In addition, the state of constitutional exception will remain in place, a move that authorizes the armed forces to provide security within the affected zone.

President Michelle Bachelet, who is in the city of Arica, 2,050 km (1,270 mi.) north of Santiago, said that the new eruption had raised the alert level in the zone, adding that Interior Minister Rodrigo Peñailillo is keeping her informed of the volcano’s activity.

“All measures are being taken to prevent any kind of situation we could regret. In fact, the volcano’s (ash) plume has reached 4,000 meters (2.5 mi.) in height, there is a southeast wind of 60 kph (37 mph), affecting (the towns of) Cochamo and Ralun, and 6,514 people have been evacuated,” she said.

Eyewitness reports collected by local radio stations said that in the town of Cochamo, located between the Andes Mountains and Calbuco, was darkened completely by ash moments after the third eruption began.

“It seemed like 10 at night. You couldn’t see anything, the volcano’s cloud is completely black. We had to take off quickly for (the neighboring town of )Ensenada,” a Cochamo resident told Bio Bio radio.

Aleuy admitted that one of the things that is of concern is the rain forecast for the region starting on Saturday, since that could worsen the situation in the area that is receiving the greatest quantity of ash and other volcanic material.

Calbuco, located 1,000 km (620 mi.) south of Santiago, began erupting last week after remaining quiescent for 42 years and it has been active ever since.

After the first eruption, some 6,400 people were forced to leave their homes in the vicinity.

The ash from Calbuco so far has been deposited in areas near the volcano and has been drifting toward southern Argentina, as occurred in earlier eruptions. EFE