Chilean President Michelle Bachelet along with local authorities embarked on a tour Saturday (May 10) to view the effects and meet with victims of an erupting volcano in Chile's remote Patagonia region. Authorities have evacuated thousands of people from the immediate vicinity of Chaiten volcano, 760 miles (1,220 km) south of the capital Santiago, and are forcing people within a 30-mile (50-km) radius to leave. Bachelet told victims she was weighing the opinions of volcano experts. "There are differences among the experts. There are experts who say the Chaiten volcano could go into the river, from the valley to Chaiten. There are experts that recommend that Chaiten never again be inhabited, there are experts that say it could be inhabited," she said. Chaiten began erupting on May 2 for the first time in thousands of years. On Friday (May 9), a government volcano expert warned a towering plume of ash from Chaiten could rain down on the surrounding area and cause devastating damage.