Chile faced a major crisis on Tuesday as a massive blackout left eight million households without electricity, prompting the government to impose a curfew and deploy the army and national police to patrol the streets. The outage affected a vast area of the country, from the north to the south, causing chaos in Santiago and leaving residents stranded in elevators and on public transportation.
By midnight, power had been restored to 90 percent of residential consumers, with officials promising full restoration by dawn. Schools in affected regions were closed, affecting around 300,000 students. President Gabriel Boric described the day as difficult for millions of Chileans and criticized power companies for the outage and slow response.
Soldiers and police were dispatched to enforce the curfew and assist with traffic control, while helicopters circled the city of Santiago. The situation remained precarious, with some regions left without drinking water and emergency services operating on backup electricity.
Chile, known for its wealth from copper reserves, has faced ongoing societal inequality that led to protests in 2019. President Boric, elected in 2021, has advocated for better basic services and a new constitution to address these issues. Though rejected by voters in 2022, his policies continue to focus on improving the lives of the majority of Chileans.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image associated with the presented article. Due to copyright reasons, we are unable to use the original images. However, you can still enjoy the accurate and up-to-date content and information provided.
