Blackout strikes Venezuela again as earlier cases blamed on ‘sabotage'
Venezuela suffered another blackout, with Caracas and other areas around the country reporting a loss of power shortly before midnight on Tuesday.
The mayor of the Bolivarian Libertador Municipality, Érika Farías Peña, tweeted: “at this time a new impact on the electric service is reported, not only in Caracas, but also in various regions of the country. The first call to keep calm, STEEL NERVES.”
¡Buenas noches!A esta hora se reporta una nueva afectación en el servicio eléctrico, no solamente en Caracas, sino también en diversas regiones del país.El primer llamado a mantener la calma, NERVIOS DE ACERO. @NicolasMaduro#10Abr
— Erika Farías Peña (@ErikaPSUV) April 10, 2019
#ReporteVPI Así se ve la ciudad de San Cristóbal. Apagón general. pic.twitter.com/1cEbmzdSa2
— Yisus (@josemarquezss) April 10, 2019
However, within minutes reports came in that the power was starting to gradually return. A member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) said workers in the service areas were working on fixing the issue and that hospitals had alternative systems set up to provide power, Telesur reports.
At 1:20am, Farías Pena shared footage of the lights back on Caracas, saying it had returned to 16 parishes.
1:20 am Estamos recorriendo la ciudad y monitoreando el proceso de recuperación del servicio eléctrico; hasta ahora contamos con la restitución parcial en 16 parroquias de Caracas, sin embargo seguimos evaluando los avances. @NicolasMaduro#10Abrpic.twitter.com/nqmImwPt6y
— Erika Farías Peña (@ErikaPSUV) April 10, 2019
The power outage comes after the country suffered a series of blackouts last month, including a massive blackout on March 7, which lasted for five days and disrupted the country, with internet, phone lines, water, and public transport services affected.
Also on rt.com Maduro announces 30-day power rationing as Venezuela is gripped by blackoutsPresident Nicolas Maduro said the blackout was the work of the Venezuela opposition with help from the US in a bid to sabotage the government. The opposition, meanwhile, claimed it was as a result of a “lack of maintenance.” Maduro implemented an electricity rationing plan to stabilize the electricity system in response to the blackouts.
El Mercio reports opposition leader Juan Guaidó had called for protests on Wednesday against the collapse of basic services before the blackout struck.
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