These hikers came close to disaster at the top of the Nevados de Chillan volcano!

At the end of January, a group of hikers climbed to the top of this erupting Chilean volcano and an explosion surprised them as they were very close to the eruptive mouth. Fortunately, she did not cause any injuries.

The eruption of this volcano began in 2016. It is mixed, effusive and explosive. the magma is moderately viscous, which forms small lava domes in the summit area, often pulverized by subsequent explosive activity, and thick lava flows that slowly flow down the flanks of the volcano. In recent months, theexplosive activity is rather modest, with ash plumes less than 2,000 meters high which sometimes generate fiery clouds a few hundred meters long. As a result, the organization in charge of watch this volcano defined a radius of 2 km around the active crater as the danger zone.

On the video below, shared by these hikers, it can be estimated that they were within 300 meters of the mouth eruptive and therefore in the potential impact zone by ballistics or fiery clouds! In the presentation of the video, these people recognize the mistake made after the fact. They also claim not to have seen any signs indicating the risks incurred, even if the observation of an explosion during the ascent had necessarily made them aware of the activity of the volcano!

This event therefore ends well, but it reminds us that education near an active volcano is just as important as monitoring !