Euronews on the ground: 'Situation calm but confused' as 'everything stopped working'
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Spain and Portugal experienced a
widespread power outage on Monday
, leaving millions without electricity in a snap blackout.
Euronews reporter Jeremy Wilks is on the ground at Porto Airport, said that the power outage across the country has already delayed multiple flights and shut down operations.
"I'd say the situation is calm but confused as people wait for more information," Wilks reported.
In Portugal, official sources told domestic media that the outage, which hit around late morning local time, was nationwide, while similar reports emerged from Spain.
The European Commission issued a statement on Monday afternoon, saying it was "in contact with the national authorities of Spain and Portugal as well as (European electricity transmission system operators' network) ENTSO-E to understand the underlying cause and the impact of the situation."
"As per EU legislation in place ... there are protocols in place to restore the functioning of the system," the statement read.
Meanwhile, Euronews' Meabh McMahon is at the European People's Party congress in Valencia, and she said there was confusion when the blackout hit, with none of the officials she asked able to give her any information.
"We've been speaking to people in Valencia at the train station, a lot of people are stuck, they've been waiting for hours with small children, no water, no clue what is going to happen," she explained.
"I spoke to one Finnish tourist who just did the Iron Man and he's supposed to catch his flight back from Madrid tomorrow but his wife and two small kids are stuck on a train 10 minutes away. He has no way of contacting them so he was very distressed. People are very stressed, people are very upset."
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