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SANTIAGO: A vast area of earthquake-hit Chile, including the capital city of Santiago, was plunged into darkness Sunday by a massive blackout, the National Emergency Office said.
The area without power covered a 2,000-kilometre stretch affecting about 80 per cent of Chile's population of 17 million people, officials said.
Power went out in the capital just before 2100 (2400 GMT), and there were problems with phone service reported as well.
Authorities did not say if the blackout was related to the massive 8.8-magnitude quake that rocked central Chile on February 27, or to the numerous aftershocks that have shaken the country since.
Officials said a power grid failure triggered a loss of electrical service from Atacama in the desert north, to the temperate central region where Santiago sits, to the much cooler south all the way to Chiloe island.
- AFP/sc
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