The fire brigade named a transformer fire as the cause of the failure.
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(Photo: AFP)
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New York A massive power failure lasting several hours hit the US metropolis of New York early on Saturday evening (local time). More than 70,000 people in Midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side were affected. The utility Con Edison spoke on Twitter of “significant power outages”. The disruption was resolved around midnight (local time), as Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city emergency service tweeted.
The glowing billboards in the famous Times Square suddenly went out. Elevators stood still, traffic lights failed, and some underground stations were also shut down, local media reported. The fire brigade had to move out several times to rescue people from stuck elevators.
The power went out in the Rockefeller Center as well, and in many cases cinema-goers suddenly found themselves completely in the dark. Several shows on Broadway had to be canceled, several artists offered spontaneous performances on the sidewalk in front of the entrance. A concert in Carnegie Hall was canceled, the hall was cleared, and later the singers continued their performance in front of the audience in front of the building.
Madison Square Garden was also not spared, where pop singer Jennifer Lopez performed. Around 9:30 p.m., in the middle of their fourth song, everything suddenly went dark, concert visitors reported. The arena was later cleared, and employees in the adjoining Pennsylvania Station helped themselves with emergency generators in order to have some light.
According to media reports, many shops closed earlier than usual. Others, such as bars and restaurants, kept going despite the darkness.
The glowing billboards in the famous Times Square suddenly went out.
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(Photo: AFP)
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Exactly 42 years after the big blackout in New York, there was another power failure.
(Photo: Reuters)
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Mayor de Blasio spoke of a “mechanical problem” in the power grid that triggered the blackout. The power failure was not due to outside interference, he tweeted. “That seems to be something that just went wrong with distributing electricity from one part of the city to another,” he told CNN.
The fire brigade named a transformer fire as the cause of the failure. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the power grid collapsed from around 7:00 p.m. The incident was “dangerous”. “You can’t have a power outage of this magnitude in this city.” There were no injuries as a result of the blackout. But the “fact that it happened at all is unacceptable”. Therefore, there will be an investigation by the Public Services Authority.
The blackout came exactly on the 42nd anniversary of the great blackout of 1977, which darkened all of New York and plunged into chaos. Looters and arsonists roamed the city, the police were on duty all the time.
More: Large parts of South America were paralyzed by a power failure in mid-June. Traffic lights and trains failed.
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