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SOUTH
AMERICA |
Power Returns To Most Of
Chile
SANTIAGO - Power has returned to about 80
percent of Chile after a massive power
blackout hit most of the country, Interior
Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter said Sunday
night.
He told local radio that power has been
fully restored in the regions of Atacama and
Maule and were returning to Santiago and the
port city of Valparaiso.
Officials were expecting a full recovery to
all affected areas in a few hours.
Sources of the Interior Ministry told Xinhua
that technicians believed a transformer
failure of a main power grid in central
Chile was the main cause of the blackout.
Following the sudden loss of power in
Santiago, people were seen running out of
homes, subway stations and theaters in
panic, and many people gathered around
street parks. Streets were congested with
vehicles as drivers pulled over to see what
happened.
The local fire department said there were no
reports of casualties related to the
blackout yet, but local media said some
people might be caught in elevators in
high-rises.
The area affected by the power cut includes
the southern regions of Maule and Bio Bio,
which were hit hardest by the massive Feb.
27 earthquake.
Xinhua reporters in Conception, a city
battered by the quake, said the southern
city was plunged into complete darkness
after the blackout struck.
The sudden loss of traffic lights led to
chaos on the busy roads and streets of
Conception, which was yet to recover from
the devastating quake and ensuing tsunami.
Hinzpeter said the blackout was not directly
related to the Feb. 27 earthquake, but
investigation would be carried out to see
whether there was an indirect cause. |
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