World

Argentina is experiencing widespread power outages as a result of a power grid fire

Argentina is experiencing widespread power outages as a result of a power grid fire
Source: Pixabay

Argentina is facing a massive power outage after a fire damaged the national power grid, causing blackouts in half of the South American country, according to media reports.

According to the BBC, the fire started in open fields on Wednesday, affecting critical power lines in the coastal zone and knocking out a nuclear power station.

Argentina is experiencing a heatwave, with daytime temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius.

The hot weather, combined with the power outage, has brought some areas to a halt, with classes suspended and businesses closed.

The worst affected are major cities, with an estimated 150,000 people still without power in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area.

The Energy Ministry has stated that it is confident that power will be restored soon.

A massive electrical failure in Argentina and neighbouring Uruguay in 2019 left tens of millions of people in the dark.

Hundreds of thousands of homes in Buenos Aires were left in the dark the following year.