Chilean Volcano Eruption Forces Town To Evacuate: PHOTOS

Reuters reports that a town in Chile has been ordered to evacuate all residents after a volcano erupted, spewing lava, ash and rock into the sky:

Lava started to spew from an erupting volcano in southern Chile on Tuesday and authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of all remaining residents from a nearby town.

Chaiten volcano, in Patagonia around 760 miles south of the Chilean capital Santiago, began erupting on Friday, sending a towering plume of ash into the sky that has since coated the surrounding area and reached as far as Argentina.

The National Emergency Office said the volcano was spitting bits of lava and rock, and that around 300 remaining civilians and troops were being evacuated by boat across a fjord. However, emergency officials had not yet detected lava flow down the volcano's sides.

Local television reported loud groaning sounds emanating from the 3,280-foot (1,000-meter) volcano, which had been dormant for thousands of years.

Scroll down for slideshow of the erupting volcano (photos from the Daily Mail).