Tourists in Chile have been warned of disruption caused by widespread power outages in the South American country – sparking chaos and a government state of emergency.
Brits holidaying on the southern Pacific Coast were told to keep an eye on local news outlets for updates and follow the advice of Chilean authorities after the country was plunged into a blackout on Tuesday, February 25.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) warned UK visitors that transport options across Chile had been disrupted by the power cut, which affected 90% of its 19-million-person population.
The blackout descended across the country on Tuesday afternoon after an issue with a high-voltage transmission line between capital city Santiago and the Atacama Desert sparked a wider chain reaction across 14 of its 16 regions.
Officials declared a state of emergency and curfew from 10pm to 6am in affected areas as the outage caused widespread chaos – with people evacuated from dark tunnels and motorists forced to navigate a sudden lack of working traffic lights.
Santiago’s main public transport operator also announced that its 8.4 million population would have no subway service until further notice.
Interior Minister Carolina Toh said the government’s priority was to “ensure people’s safety”, warning that the transmission line breakdown was “affecting the entire electrical system of the country”.
Transport Minister Juan Carlos Muoz also urged people to stay at home rather than attempting to travel as the problem persisted – suggesting that it was “not a good time to go out since we have a transport system that is not operating normally”.
The blackout also disrupted mobile phone services and caused the world’s largest copper mine to suspend operations, as well as sparking water shortages after pumps running on electricity stopped working.
Back-up generators were used to keep essential equipment running at hospitals, government buildings and prisons, Ms Toh said.
Authorities at Santiago International Airport said terminals had also switched to emergency power supplies, but warned that flights could still be affected.
Power began returning in “bursts” to around half of the eight million households affected at 11pm local time, according to President Gabriel Boric.
The government denied that the widespread outage was caused by a cyber attack, pointing instead to a system failure.
In a late-night televised address, the President added: “What happened today is outrageous. It’s intolerable that one or several companies should affect the everyday life of millions of Chileans, and that’s why it’s the state’s duty to hold them responsible.”
