Chaos on the streets: millions of people in Central Asia without electricity

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A police officer directs people across the street: In Kyrgyzstan, nothing that runs on electricity works anymore

Photo: VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / AFP

In the meantime, a serious technical breakdown has cut off electricity for millions of people in several Central Asian countries. The Kazakhstan Ministry of Energy said an important power line was interrupted on Tuesday. As a result, the power went out in the metropolis of Almaty, among others. Kyrgyzstan and several regions in populous Uzbekistan were also affected.

Airports in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan had to temporarily shut down operations.

The media reported that in many places the subways had stopped, traffic lights had failed and tourists were stuck in ski lifts.

The exact background of the defect is still being investigated, according to the authorities in the three countries.

According to the Ministry of Energy, work is underway to fully restore the power supply.

The power grids of the three ex-Soviet republics are interconnected.

There is also a connection via Kazakhstan to Russia, from where electricity can be supplied in the event of bottlenecks.

In Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in particular, people keep complaining about power cuts and an unstable supply.

This large-scale failure was the most momentous breakdown in recent years.

saw/dpa