Chilean volcano Calbuco erupted for the third time in eight days on Thursday, sending a new cloud of ash and gas high into the sky, although officials said the latest eruption was less powerful than those of last week.

Calbuco spewed more than 200 million tons of ash last week, coating nearby towns, wrecking parts of the salmon industry and forcing the cancellation of flights as far as Buenos Aires 1,400 km (870 miles) away.

The volcano has been quiet this week, but geological officials had warned it was still unstable and could erupt again. The new eruption began at 1:09 p.m. (1609 GMT), the government's geology service Sernageomin said.