BUENOS AIRES, April 23. /TASS/. The Chilean authorities have evacuated about 1,200 people after Volcano Calbuco in southern Chile spew a think plume of ash and smoke, the local mass media said on Wednesday.

Locals are banned to stay within a radius of 20 kilometres around the giant mount. A red alert was declared following the sudden eruption. The government calls on people to stay calm and not yield to panic.

Calbuco, which is considered to be one of the top three most potentially dangerous volcanoes in Chile, last erupted in 1972. Another volcano, Villarica, in southern Chile erupted in early March also forcing the authorities to evacuate people from its vicinity. However its activity soon subsided.