Vemos una camioneta destacada por la flecha amarilla, ella nos muestra la monstruosa magnitud del atentado ecológico en nuestro país.

The regional environment commission, Corema, called for the developer, Geotérmica del Norte — which is owned by the Chilean government and Italian consortium Enel — to stop work after the incident, which lasted three weeks before being brought under control.

An inquiry has been opened, says Cristián Rodríguez, Corema’s manager in the Antofagasta region in the north of the country. The suspension will last at least until the geyser and the surrounding area are repaired and fully under control.

Geotérmica del Norte’s technical manager for the project, Martino Pasti, tells the local newspaper, El Mercurio de Antofagasta: “There has been no impact on the geysers as a result of this episode, based on our daily monitoring that we developed a long time ago in conjunction with the community.

“This emission is absolutely insignificant with respect to the dimensions of the reservoir in this particular zone.”

Pasti says such emissions occurred before, when the geysers were controlled by the Chilean economic development agency.

The energy minister, Marcelo Tokman, speaking at Renewable Energies Week in Anto­fagasta, said: “We have to carefully analyse and figure out what happened, if this accident was foreseeable, and if the response to the accident was the most adequate.”

However, he added: “We are not going to draw general conclusions about geothermal power based on a single event, because it has great potential.”

No action will be taken until conclusions about the cause and effects of the incident are determined. International experts are being sought to help with the investigation.

The local community has taken to the streets of nearby San Pedro de Atacama in protest against the geothermal development, saying it will pollute the area and chase tourists away.

The residents are calling for the authorities to adopt measures to mitigate the “serious damage provoked by the exploration” of El Tatio’s geysers.

They blame Geotérmica del Norte for a lack of expertise in exploration, and say the company is acting in bad faith.

Local people are calling for an investigation into the damage, and “the immediate and definitive end of this disastrous project, for the good of our country and our children’s future”.

The Loa and San Pedro rivers spring from El Tatio. The community fears that water released during the eruption could be contaminated.