Solar eclipse plunges South America into darkness for two minutes

A two-minute long solar eclipse made thousands of heads turn toward the sky in Southern America as countries like Chile and Argentina were plunged into darkness. Take a look at the stunning visuals

Heavy rain had threatened to prevent star gazers in Chile from seeing the eclipse but at the last moment the clouds parted just enough for the phenomenon to be partially visible.

It was the second total eclipse for Chile in the last 18 months. This one struck at 1:00 pm (1600 GMT) as thousands of tourists and residents gathered, hoping the clouds would disappear in time.

In Argentine Patagonia, several families and foreigners had set up camp between the towns of Villa El Chocon and Piedra del Aguila hoping to see the eclipse.

Despite Covid-19 restrictions on movement, almost 300,000 tourists had arrived in the Araucania region around 800-kilometres (500 miles) south of the capital Santiago.

Dozens of amateur and professional scientists set up telescopes on the slopes of the Villarrica volcano - one of the most active in Chile - to observe the phenomenon when the moon passes between the sun and Earth. The eclipse was due to be visible along a 90-kilometre wide corridor from the Pacific coast in Chile across the Andes mountain range and into Argentina.

In local tradition, an eclipse signifies the temporary death of the sun during a battle between the star and an evil force known as "Wekufu."