Mega blackout in Chile, 80% of the country without power. Transport chaos

Mega blackout in Chile. The National Disaster Prevention Service (Senapred) announced a sudden interruption of the electricity supply service that would affect more than 80% of users throughout the country. The government has called an emergency meeting of the Risk and Disaster Management Committee. In Santiago, the subway service was interrupted, according to the authorities, and thousands of people were evacuated from the various stations without any major incidents.

The Minister of the Interior and Security, Carolina Tohá , ruled out an attack as the cause. "It was a problem in the network," Tohá said. The National Electricity Coordination Service (Cen) identified the problem as the sudden disconnection of a 500Kv distribution network in the Norte Chico area, in the northern province of Atacama - in the far north of the country - which had repercussions on the entire national network.

The blackout began at 3:16 p.m. (local time) and at 3:50 p.m., according to what the Santiago Metro reported on social media, the evacuation operations of passengers were continuing. The city authorities have strengthened the bus passenger transport service, but circulation throughout the city is currently hampered by the complete absence of even the transit signaling system.