Chile power cut: 'We were trapped like sardines in the dark'

Millions of people in Chile had their routines disrupted by an almost nationwide power cut.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersChile power cut: 'We were trapped like sardines in the dark'1 day agoShareSaveVanessa BuschschlüterBBC NewsShareSaveReutersThousands of people had to make their way home after the Viña del Mar festival was suspended More than eight million households across Chile were left without power on Tuesday afternoon after an electricity transmission line failed, cutting off the electricity supply to much of the country.

In the capital, Santiago, the entire underground train system was suspended almost immediately. Thousands of people had to be evacuated and stations were plunged into darkness.

"We were like sardines in the dark," one passenger described the moment their underground train stalled.

Many of those who had been in lifts inside the stations when the power cut happened had to be freed by firefighters.

One woman in her 70s was trapped in a lift between two floors in a building in Santiago.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w182z9868o

---