Puyehue Volcano situated over 500 miles south of Santiago, Chile erupted for the first time in half a century on June 4th. Until today, ash plumes are still coming out from the Puyehue volcano which crossed Chilean boarders, disrupting flight schedules.

In Argentina and Uruguay, hundreds of flights have been canceled as winds blew clouds of ash from the volcano to the East. All flights from Buenos Aires, Argentina and most out of Montevideo, Uruguay were canceled on Thursday, according to an AFP report.

On Saturday, strong winds had carried the ash cloud far enough that Qantas and other airlines had been forced to cancel flights from Australia to New Zealand, as well as flights from the Australian mainland to Tasmania. On Sunday, Qantas and Virgin Australia had also cancelled flights to Melbourne.

Meanwhile, for the photos and videos of the Puyehue eruption, please head HERE.

Puyehue volcano located 870 km south of Santiago, Chile and part of the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex, erupted for the first time in five decades on June 4, 2011.

The eruption prompted evacuations for 3,500 people and cancellation of flights as it sent a cloud of ash that reached the city of Bariloche, in Argentina, where the local airport was closed. There were no reports of injuries.

An alert had been declared by the National Emergencies' Office in nearby zones around the volcano after a flurry of earthquakes earlier on Saturday. Reports say that over a period of six hours, the number of temblors reached an average of 230 per hour - the largest occurred at 8:36 a.m. (local time) on June 4th with a magnitude 4.4.

Chile’s National Geology and Mining Service also reported a column of gas 10 kilometers high and five kilometers wide rose from Puyehue-Cordon Caulle complex, hours after warning of strong seismic activity in the area.

The last eruption of Puyehue volcano said to have occurred in 1960 following a massive 9.5 earthquake.

Meanwhile here's a video of the lightning inside Puyehue volcano as it erupts (courtesy of "RussiaToday" of Youtube):

Puyehue volcano situated 870 kilometers south of Santiago, Chile erupted for the first time in 50 years on Saturday.