A volcano spewed ash over Patagonian towns in southern Chile on the day before, 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 three km into the air. There is no record of the volcano erupting in the last 2,000 years, according to Chilean geology officials.

President Michelle Bachelet visited the area on the day before with several government ministers and said she hoped to fly over the worst-affected areas.

Chile?s 2,000 volcanoes include two of Latin America?s most active ? Villarica and Llaima. Scientists say some 500 are potentially active.