Large regions of Spain, Portugal, Andorra and parts of France have been crippled by a mass power outage – with telephone and train lines inactive as authorities deal with the chaos.
Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica has said it is working with energy companies to restore power as quickly as possible.
Data from Red Electrica shows an enormous drop-off in a matter of seconds.
On social media, the firm said that it had invoked “power supply restoration plans in coordination with industry partners following the blackout across the peninsula.”
It added: “The causes of the incident are being investigated, and all available resources are being allocated to resolve it as quickly as possible.”
Around 20 million British tourists visit Spain and Portugal combined every year.
In the former, hotspots Seville, Barcelona and Valencia have all been affected by the outage – but the Canary and Balearic Islands have escaped unscathed.
While in capital Madrid, the underground network has been evacuated, traffic lights are down, and play has been suspended at the Madrid Open tennis tournament, forcing British player Jacob Fearnley to leave the court.
Its Barajas international airport, which serves around one million passengers daily, has also been left without power.
Valencia’s metro has also suspended its entire service, and warned: “The extent and duration of the outage are unknown.”
Play at the Madrid Open has been suspended – and the lights are out around the court
REUTERS
And in a further sign of looming travel chaos, Spain’s rail network Renfe said the power outage struck on a “national level” at 12.30pm (11.30am BST).
All its trains have been stopped and no departures are taking place, it added.
Meanwhile in Portugal, official sources have told domestic media that the blackouts are nationwide.
