Southern Europe experienced moments of chaos this Monday after a massive blackout affected Spain, Portugal, and southern France. The power supply abruptly dropped, creating scenes of confusion that quickly went viral on social media.
Various users shared videos showing subway stations completely in the dark and trains stopped. In one of the most shocking recordings, passengers were stranded while the scarce emergency lights barely illuminated the platform.
Streets collapsed and airports in crisis
The blackout caused a traffic collapse in Madrid, where traffic lights stopped working. Images showed pedestrians trying to cross the streets among vehicles moving blindly.
Internet connectivity also experienced failures, while some train and subway lines suspended their services. The country's main airports reported flight delays and cancellations.
According to Red Eléctrica (REE), around 12:30 local time, energy demand plummeted from 25,184 to 12,425 megawatts in a few minutes. Meanwhile, reports of outages began to multiply throughout Spanish territory, in addition to similar incidents in Portugal and southern France.
Investigations underway and suspension of the Madrid Masters 1000
The National Cybersecurity Institute and the Ministry of the Interior of Spain launched an investigation to determine the causes of the blackout. The main hypothesis pointed to a possible cyberattack.
