Lights flickered, a subway line was paralyzed and some elevators and escalators stopped briefly due to a momentary blackout caused by a small explosion at an electrical installation in New York.
The blackout that occurred seconds before midnight on Thursday affected most of the city, authorities reported.
“Essentially, people saw a one-second flicker shortly before midnight and then the voltage recovered or returned to normal,” said Matthew Ketschke, director of the Con Edison electric utility.
Ketschke told the media on Friday that a short circuit occurred at a substation in Brooklyn. He explained that a protective system similar to a circuit breaker isolated the faulty equipment, causing a brief drop in voltage.
A video posted on X showed smoke from the explosion floating over the Manhattan Bridge, between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Trapped in elevators
Ketschke said a dozen people were trapped in elevators in different parts of the city and were rescued.
The blackout stopped subway circulation between the Grand Central rail terminal and Wall Street, the transit authority in X reported.
Long Island Rail Road officials said all Grand Central elevators and escalators were stopped.
Despite the inconvenience for some subway and elevator users, the episode is just a footnote in the history of the city’s blackouts.
Blackouts in history
Widespread vandalism occurred after a blackout on July 13, 1977 in the city and surrounding areas,
Twenty-six years later, 50 million people in the northeast of the country were left without electricity on August 14, 2003.
Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the Atlantic coast on October 29, 2012, left much of the city in the dark.
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: A large section of Manhattan’s Upper West Side and Midtown neighborhoods are seen in darkness from above during the blackout. (Photo by Scott Heins/Getty Images)
Crédito: Scott Heins/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: Thousands of New Yorkers are without power due to the blackout in parts of Manhattan, including Times Square and the Upper West Side in the dark and the disruption of subway service throughout the city. (Photo by Scott Heins/Getty Images)
Crédito: Scott Heins/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: Two people stand in front of the Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue during the blackout. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Credit: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: Ben Hunter, 40, far left, Addie Hunter, 15, Lori Hunter, 37, Lilli Hunter, 13, Bailey Rainey, 24, and Cami Hunter, 10, sit across the street of his apartment building on West 64th Street after losing power during a major blackout on July 13, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Heins/Getty Images)
Crédito: Scott Heins/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: People sit outside the Row NYC hotel during the blackout. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
Crédito: Byron Smith/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: Radio City Music Hall in darkness during the blackout. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: The intersection of 43rd and 8th streets during the blackout. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
Crédito: Byron Smith/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: NYPD officers direct traffic on Eighth Avenue during the blackout. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
Crédito: Byron Smith/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: West 43rd Street is seen during the blackout. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: The M57 crosstown bus picks up passengers during the blackout. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Credit: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: A woman sits inside a Duane Read on 57th Street trying to use her cell phone during the blackout. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: NYPD officers direct traffic on Eighth Avenue during the blackout (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
Crédito: Byron Smith/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: A yellow taxi picks up passengers during the blackout (Photo: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: A group of children try to use their phones on the corner of West 58th Street and 7th Avenue during the blackout. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: Pedestrians on West 43rd Street during the blackout. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: Pedestrians are seen on West 43rd Street during the blackout. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
Crédito: Byron Smith/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: A woman tries to make a cell phone call in Columbus Circle during the power outage. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: The lights at the Hard Rock Cafe go out during the blackout. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: An ice cream truck sits on the corner of 7th Ave. and West 59th Street during power. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Credit: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: Lights of the Majestic Theater, showing the Phantom of the Opera, during the blackout. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
Crédito: Byron Smith/Getty Images
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: A woman sits on the steps of Carnegie Hall using her cell phone as a flashlight during the blackout. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 13: A large section of the Upper West Side and Midtown in complete darkness during the blackout. (Photo by Scott Heins/Getty Images)
Crédito: Scott Heins/Getty Images
2023-12-15 19:31:00
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