Sri Lanka hit by nationwide power cut

The outage is yet to be fully fixed meaning hospitals and other buildings are having to use generators.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-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 LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersSri Lanka hit by nationwide power cut4 hours agoGeorge WrightBBC NewsGetty ImagesSri Lanka experienced widespread blackouts amid an economic crisis in 2022 (file photo)Power is being gradually restored across Sri Lanka after a nationwide outage left buildings including hospitals having to rely on generators.

Officials say it may take a few hours to get power back across the island nation, but medical facilities and water purification plants have been given priority.

Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody reportedly blamed a monkey for causing the power cut, saying the animal came into "contact with our grid transformer causing an imbalance in the system", according to the AFP news agency.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said the power cut had been caused by an emergency at a sub-station, south of Colombo, and gave no further details.

"Engineers are attending to it to try and restore the service as soon as possible," the minister said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8d92n28pqjo

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