Around 12:35 in the afternoon, a blackout occurred in the city of Madrid affecting traffic lights on various streets and avenues in different areas of the capital, impacting districts such as Hortaleza, Puente de Vallecas, and Barrio de Salamanca.
Signal interruptions affected road traffic, leading to accidents and collisions on various roads in the capital, as reported by GRAN MADRID through Emergency sources.
The power outage also caused disruptions in the Madrid Metro, forcing passengers to evacuate stations in darkness.
"The entire Metro network just went down (lights included) along with traffic lights in downtown Madrid. They made us leave... and mobile network operation is also very poor," a user complained on the X social network shortly after noon.
Red Electrica Espanola stated that "electricity supply restoration plans have been activated in collaboration with sector companies following the blackout in the peninsular system." However, the cause of this major blackout is still unknown: "The causes are being analyzed, and all resources are being dedicated to solving it."
The blackout also affected Barajas Airport, leading to the suspension of air traffic due to power cuts.
Another critical infrastructure affected was the AVE high-speed train lines, which, like airports, saw their operations affected.
Another affected critical infrastructure was Ifema, where attendees reported being trapped inside the venue to GRAN MADRID.
In addition to the capital Madrid, the blackout affected other provinces such as Galicia or Catalonia. Meanwhile, internationally, it impacted cities like Lisbon and various provinces in southern France.