A sweeping blackout plunged most of Chile into darkness, stranding commuters, knocking the internet offline, and paralyzing businesses and daily life as officials scrambled to restore power.
Key Points
Chile experienced a sweeping blackout, affecting most of the country
High-voltage backbone transmission line disruption caused the outage
Government declared a state of emergency and imposed a nighttime curfew
Pros
Government declared a state of emergency to ensure people's safety
Emergency generators helped hospitals and government offices continue operating
Cons
Internet and mobile phone services went offline
World's largest copper producer suspended mining operations
People complained of water shortages as pumps running on electricity stopped working