Spain Declares State of Emergency After Power Blackout Causes Chaos

Portugal also hit by huge outage that takes down ATMs, trains and phones

- Jon Henley, Ashifa Kassam and Sam Jones,

Spain declared a state of emergency last night after tens of millions of people across the Iberian peninsula were plunged into a huge power blackout, leaving them without trains, metros, traffic lights, cash machines, phone connections and internet access.

People were trapped in lifts, stuck on trains, stalled in traffic and abandoned in airports. Hundreds stumbled along pitch-black metro tunnels using their phone torches; others scrambled for basics in supermarkets that could only take cash, or began long trudges home from work.

Mobile networks went down and internet access was cut as power failed at 12.33pm (1.33pm UK time). Hospitals postponed routine operations but used generators to attend to critical cases, and while electronic banking was able to function on backup systems, most cash machine screens were blank.

The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, urged residents to limit their journeys and stay where they were, adding: "It is essential that the emergency services can circulate." Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended.

The Spanish government convened a crisis meeting at the national grid operator, Red Eléctrica, to discuss the power cut attended by the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, who said last night a problem in Europe's grid was to blame though the precise cause was still unclear.