Several European countries have been hit by a massive blackout: people are stuck in subway cars and elevators, and authorities are talking about 6-10 hours for restoration

The governments of Spain and Portugal have called emergency cabinet meetings after the blackout, which also briefly affected parts of France bordering northeastern Spain. Portuguese utility REN confirmed a power outage in the Iberian Peninsula that also affected parts of France, while Spanish grid operator Red Electrica said it was working with regional energy companies to restore power, Reuters reported .

Situation in Spain

In Spain, flight delays were reported across the country.

The Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended. Parts of the Madrid metro were evacuated. Local radio reported people trapped in blocked metro cars and elevators.

Traffic jams have formed in the center of Madrid due to the stoppage of traffic lights.
One of the four towers in Madrid, where the British embassy is located, has been evacuated.

The internet has also been affected and mobile phone networks are not working.

Spanish grid operator Red Electrica is working to restore power, but full restoration will take between 6 and 10 hours, company CEO Eduardo Prieto told a press conference. The outage was caused by large fluctuations in power in the grid.

Situation in Portugal

Portuguese police reported that traffic lights were out of order across the country, the metro was closed in Lisbon and Porto, and trains were not running.

Lisbon's metro operator, Metropolitano de Lisboa, said the metro had stopped and people were still on the trains.

A source at Portuguese airline TAP Air said Lisbon airport was running on backup generators. The airline also warned passengers not to travel to the airports until further notice.

In Lisbon, queues have formed at cash points because card payments are not accepted due to a power outage.

What the investigation shows

According to the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), an initial investigation into the causes of the outages indicates a technical malfunction, not a cyberattack, Bloomberg writes .

“At this time, the investigation indicates a technical/cabling issue,” a spokesperson for the agency said in an email. “However, ENISA is closely monitoring the situation and we are in contact with the relevant authorities at national and EU level.”

Portugal's National Cybersecurity Center also reports that no evidence has yet been found that would indicate a cyberattack that caused the power grid failure.

And Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president of the European Commission and former Spanish energy minister, also said there was no evidence of a cyberattack.

"The main priority, of course, is to restore the power system and assess and understand what happened," she told reporters on the steps of the European Parliament.