An electrical link that supplies Bangladesh's power grid with electricity from India failed Saturday, plunging most of the country into a blackout. Attempts to restore power have only met with limited success. Officials' efforts to restore service by nightfall have not succeeded.
The blackout struck around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, reportedly after a connection that brings power in from India tripped. Most of the country's population of more than 160 million people has now gone without electricity for more than 8 hours.
"The sudden vacuum caused disruption of power generation at all power plants across the country," The Daily Star reports. Some efforts to produce power succeeded – but only for a short time, as those sources were overwhelmed by demand.
Hospitals and airports are using emergency generators to continue operating, the newspaper says. But that step won't allow technicians to use power-intensive machines such as some scanning equipment, the newspaper adds.
"The sudden blackout has pushed the prices of candles up," BDNews24 says. "Hundreds were seen lining up in front of petrol stations in [the capital city of] Dhaka to get diesel for power generators."
"It will take time" to restore power, BDNews24 quotes State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid saying.
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