Blackout in Lebanon, completely in the dark after a giant power cut

The image is striking.

Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut is plunged into darkness.

The reason: the whole of Lebanon is the victim of a blackout due to the cut-off of the electricity network throughout the country.

Several testimonies, collected this Saturday evening by Le Parisien, confirm that there is no more electricity, in particular in the capital as reported by several local media, some of which are affected by the cut.

The information was also confirmed by the company "Electricity of Lebanon" which put forward a reason for this giant cut.

The company should have cut the power due to clashes at the Aramoun plant, near Mount Lebanon.

Dozens of unidentified demonstrators stormed the plant.

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"Protesters stormed the main station in the 'switching area', without bothering to put their personal safety and the safety of the station workers at risk," the statement said.

Still according to the national electricity company, they have even committed damage and cut several important power supplies for the network.

These acts of vandalism "negatively impacted the network, which caused the disconnection of all the power plants (…), leading to a general blackout for the whole of Lebanese territory" from 5 p.m. .

Secure the network to avoid new incidents

The company, already plagued by numerous difficulties for several months, stressed that its network had to be preserved to avoid even greater damage. In a context already explosive for months, the electricity company said in a statement that "in light of the current difficult economic, financial and monetary conditions, it reiterates its appeal to all the authorities and security forces of the country of the need to protect all of the company's facilities from any further attack ”.

The leaders of "Electricity of Lebanon" especially underline the immense need to regain control over the "transfer stations" in particular the main station of Aramoun, because it is not possible to restore the electricity network in the event that the control of this station is not taken again, because it acts of "the principal station of connection between the electrical plant of Zahrani and the rest of the electrical network".

Last October, a blackout had already affected all of Lebanon and the capital Beirut, this time due to the shutdown of two power plants for lack of fuel.