Major Power Outage Hits Spain and Portugal, Thousands Evacuated from Metro

madrid/lisbon - Spain and Portugal, including Madrid and Lisbon, face a widespread power outage affecting transportation systems and leading to traffic chaos.

Major Power Outage Hits Spain and Portugal

Large parts of Spain and Portugal, including the capitals Madrid and Lisbon, are grappling with a significant power outage. The Spanish government is investigating the outage with technical teams from various ministries.

Extent of the Outage

The outage has impacted cities like Sevilla, Barcelona, Pamplona, and transportation services such as train and metro lines. The disruption has also affected the airport in Madrid and Lisbon.

Reports indicate that Andorra, parts of South France near the Spanish border, and various regions are also without power, with disruptions in internet and phone services.

Transportation Chaos and Evacuations

The outage has caused malfunctioning traffic lights, resulting in significant traffic congestion in many cities. In Barcelona, thousands of metro passengers were evacuated in darkness.

Government Response and Crisis Meeting

The Spanish cabinet, including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, is holding a crisis meeting to address the massive power outage. Key ministers are convening at the headquarters of the grid operator Red Eléctrica to manage the situation.

The power outage has even affected the Madrid Open tennis tournament, leading to disruptions in matches and scoreboard operations.