Calbuco volcano: Incredible images show entire town covered in blanket of ash

Ensenada town is located at the foot of the volcano

A boat is seen in a house backyard at Ensenada town which is covered with ash from Calbuco volcano near Puerto Varas city (Reuters)

A town in southern Chile has been left completely covered in a cloud of ash after the Calbuco volcano erupted unexpectedly on Wednesday.

Striking pictures show a boat fully submerged below the ash cloud in Ensenada town, near Puerto Varas city. In another image, a man is seen waiting by a bus stop waiting to be evacuated following a second eruption on Thursday.

Mounds of ash line the steps to one house, while Chilean President Michelle Bachelet is seen staring in amazement at the volcano from a vehicle as she visited the affected region.

The two eruptions from Calbuco are the first for more than 40 years and sent plumes of soot more than six miles high.

Authorities evacuated a total of 4,000 people from nearby communities and closed access to the area around the volcano.

President Bachelet declared a state of emergency during her visit on Thursday. "We don't have any problems with supplies, water or sewage up to now," she said. "Our problem is a respiratory one, from inhaling all of this ash, and the fact that this ash could generate some sort of environmental contamination."

Cars and streets in Villa La Angostura, Argentina, a small town about 56 miles (90 kilometers) northeast of Calbuco, were also coated in a layer of ash.

Additional reporting by agencies