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State of emergency declared after blackout plunges most of Chile into darkness

Chile’s president has declared a state of emergency after an electricity blackout plunged most of the country into darkness on Tuesday, including the capital Santiago.

Internet and mobile phone services were down across much of the nation and parts of Santiago’s transport network was suspended, stranding commuters, as officials scrambled to restore power. Interior Minister Carolina Tohá urged the public to stay calm and said officials were racing to restore power and operations across the country of some 19 million people. Tohá said hospitals, prisons and government buildings were switching to backup generators to keep essential services running and that the national gendarmerie force had been deployed on the streets, to maintain security and support the flow of traffic.

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