[News Desk]
◀ Anchor ▶
A large-scale blackout occurred in Spain and Portugal, plunging cities into darkness and causing everything from transportation to the internet to come to a halt.
Spain, now almost entirely paralyzed, declared a national emergency and has been working on restoration, but the exact cause remains unknown.
This is reported by Kim Min-chan, a correspondent.
◀ Report ▶
Subway trains stopped on the tracks, and passengers walked out through dark tunnels.
People evacuated along the railway tracks.
[Ana Cordero/Train Evacuated Passenger]
“After the train’s battery died, the toilets stopped working. Everything is electronic, so everything stopped.”
On the afternoon of the 28th local time, a massive power outage occurred in most cities in Spain and Portugal.
The blackout resulted from the disappearance of 15GW of power — 60% of Spain’s total demand — in just 5 seconds.
In Spain alone, more than 100 trains stopped, and approximately 35,000 passengers evacuated onto the tracks.
Around 300 flights were also canceled.
[Eva/Valencia Resident]
“We’ve been waiting here for four hours. I can’t understand how this happened.”
Roads, shops, hospitals, factories—they all came to a complete standstill.
Local media reported that phones and the internet went dead, and in some areas, even the water supply was cut off.
Supermarkets were crowded with people trying to buy water, emergency food, candles, and lighters. It was reported that battery-operated radios were already sold out.
Spain immediately declared a national emergency.
It’s reported that over 50 million people have been affected.
[Ivan Enrique/Barcelona Resident]
“Everything has come to a complete stop. People trapped in elevators can’t communicate with anyone to get out.”
Most of the power has been restored, but the reason for this unprecedented outage is still unknown.
There’s speculation that the instability of the atmosphere due to extreme temperature differences in inland Spain caused power lines to sway, which may have automatically disconnected the power supply.
The Spanish government stated they’re analyzing all possibilities.
The European Union dismissed the possibility of a cyberattack.
This was Kim Min-chan reporting from Berlin for MBC News.
Video Production: Ryu Sang-hee / Video Editing: Lee Jeong-seop
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