How a monkey plunged all of Sri Lanka into darkness

A monkey entering a Sri Lankan electrical sub-station led to a countrywide power outage on Sunday, officials confirmed. The blackout started at 11:30 am local time (0600 GMT) and remained unresolved in some areas after three hours.

Minister confirms cause of disruption

Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody stated, "A monkey has come in contact with our grid transformer, causing an imbalance in the system." The incident occurred in a suburb south of Colombo.

Restoration efforts underway

While power was restored in some areas, authorities were unsure how long it would take to fully restore electricity. "Engineers are attending to it to try and restore the service as soon as possible," Jayakody added.

Previous blackouts in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka faced prolonged electricity shortages in 2022 during an economic crisis. Fuel shortages forced power stations to impose daily outages lasting up to 13 hours.

(Inputs from AFP)