Power outage affects half of Chile's population
A power outage on Monday plunged Santiago
and other central Chilean cities into darkness, affecting half of the
country's population.
The blackout affected areas between the city of Copiapo in the north and
Talca in the south. The presidential palace in downtown Santiago was
also left without power for half an hour.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from subway stations. Firefighters and
police were also dispatched to help people out of stalled elevators and
other facilities.
The blackout occurred at 2145 GMT shortly after President Ricardo Lagos
denied that his country could suffer electricity shortages as a result
of a reduction in natural gas supply from Argentina.
The reduction has reportedly paralyzed 40 Chilean firms and seriously
affected 190 others.
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