Nearly half of Argentina was without power for hours last night due to a fire. The fire broke out along the coast and knocked out the national electricity grid, the BBC reports. The capital Buenos Aires, among others, was hit, as were other major cities.
The fire reportedly started in an open field, after which important power lines were damaged. Subsequently, a nuclear power plant failed. Daily newspaper Buenos Aires Times writes that at least 20 million inhabitants were affected by the power outage. Argentina has about 45 million people.
The power outage began at 4:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. Dutch time). In some regions, life came to a virtual standstill. Traffic lights no longer worked, shops could no longer cool their goods and air conditioners also failed. It is summer in the South American country and it is currently struggling with a heat wave: in many places it was about 35 degrees yesterday.
A few hours after the power went out, lights slowly came back on in Buenos Aires.
Arson or not
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has called on local authorities to investigate. That should show whether there was arson.
Argentina has experienced massive power outages more often. In 2019, the electricity system also failed once in the entire country. Tens of millions of people in Argentina and neighboring Uruguay were left without power.
- Dutchman in Buenos Aires: ‘I have never seen such a major disruption’
- Tens of millions of people affected by power outage in South America
