11 Jun 2011

Volcanic ash cloud disrupts flights

7:30 am on 11 June 2011

International flights to and from Argentina and Uruguay have been disrupted again by a huge ash cloud caused by a volcanic eruption in southern Chile.

Argentina's main international and domestic airports in the capital, Buenos Aires, were forced to close, the BBC reports. Both had already cancelled flights earlier this week.

The Puyehue-Cordon-Caulle volcano range, about 800 kilometres south of Santiago, began erupting on 4 June.

Wind changes have pushed the ash cloud back and forth across southern Argentina and Chile; on Thursday it was directly above Buenos Aires at a height of 9000 metres.

Chile is one of the most volcanic countries on Earth. More than 3000 volcanoes are dotted along its length, about 80 of which are active.