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Blackouts continue to plague Caracas

A power outage left much of Venezuela in the dark on March 7 in what appeared to be one of the largest blackouts yet in the South American country

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Residents cross a street in the dark after a power outage in Caracas, Venezuela

© AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

A power outage left much of Venezuela in the dark on March 7 in what appeared to be one of the largest blackouts yet in a country

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

Locals scramble to board a bus after a power outage in Caracas

© AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

Customers line up at a gas station in Caracas

© AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

Anti-government demonstrators block a street to protest an electricity blackout in Caracas

© AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

Passengers are seen at the Simon Bolívar International Airport as international flights are delayed due to power outage in Venezuela

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

People push a car without fuel to one of the few gas stations that has its own electric generator during an electricity blackout in Caracas

© AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

People wait in line to get drinking water as water supply is disrupted in some neighbourhoods due to power outage in Caracas

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

Power and communications outages continue to hit Venezuela, intensifying the hardship of a country paralyzed by economic and political crisis

© AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

Mothers and relatives wait outside of an intense care room for babies at a clinic, during a power outage in Caracas

© AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos

People walk in a street in the dark during a power outage in Caracas

© EPA-EFE/RAYNER PENA

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Residential areas of Caracas once again hit by power outage

Caracas and 20 of the country’s 23 regions were initially left without electricity on March 7. The National Electric Company said the blackout had been caused by an accident at the Simon Bolivar Hydroelectric Plant, which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blamed on "US imperialism." However, the US Department of State denied any involvement. Electricity began to be gradually restored across Venezuela on March 8 but the situation worsened on March 9 following reports about an explosion at an electric substation located on the outskirts of the city of Ciudad Bolivar. Due to the blackout, the Venezuelan government declared March 11 a day off.

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