CCF International Church

Whilst preparing for my trip here, the Holy Spirit warned me to go two days earlier. The meetings only begin tomorrow i.e. Saturday. Throughout many years of travelling I have learned to follow His leadership in all matters, however unwise in respect of our human understanding it may seem. I was literally on the last international flight here before the airport was closed. The skies over Buenos Airies have darkened considerably. Here is a report from the News 24 site.

Buenos Aires– Domestic

ERUPTION OF THE VOLCANO IN CHILE

and international flights from Argentina’s two busiest airports were suspended Tuesday due to volcanic ash from the erupting Puyehue volcano in Chile, officials said.

An airport official said 32 flights were cancelled at the Buenos Aires Ezeiza international airport and 30 others were cancelled at the Aeroparque de Buenos Aires, which has flights to domestic and regional destinations.

Airports in southern Argentina have been closed since Saturday’s eruption of the volcano in neighbouring southern Chile.

The eruption forced the nearby Argentine resort town of Bariloche, population 50 000, to declare a state of emergency Saturday and close its airport.

It also forced a major border crossing point to close due to low visibility, and dropped ash on the upmarket Argentine resort town of Villa La Angostura.

The airport official, who declined to be identified, said a committee would be meeting in the afternoon to decide on future flights.

Flagship carrier Aerolineas Argentinas and its subsidiary Austral as well as Lan Chile, announced earlier the suspension of its flights “until further notice”.

Meanwhile in Sao Paulo, the Brazilian airports authority told AFP that 10 flights bound for Argentina were cancelled due to the ash.

The rains that began late Monday could prove a disastrous mix with the fine volcanic dust spewing from the volcano, 870km south of the capital Santiago near the border with Argentina, in Chile’s Lago Ranco area.

So far 4 000 people have been evacuated from 22 rural Chilean communities surrounding the volcano, which rumbled to life on Saturday after showing no activity since 1960, when it erupted following a magnitude 9.5 earthquake.

Northwesterly winds on Tuesday pushed the giant column of ash over parts of southern Argentina, as Chilean officials visited houses urging residents to leave the remote region below the volcano, which stands at 2 240m above sea level.