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Monkey Business: Power outage plunges Sri Lanka into island-wide darkness
- Sri Lanka's power outage began around 11:30 am (0600 GMT). The power was restored in some areas, but it was not clear how much longer the outage would last
Sri Lanka suffered a complete blackout on Sunday after a monkey came in contact with an electrical grid at a Colombo suburb, reported AFP citing government officials.
The power outage began around 11:30 am (0600 GMT). The power was restored in some areas, but it was not clear how much longer the outage would last.
Also Read | Debt-stricken Sri Lanka marks independence day as new president pledges to rebuild the country
"A monkey has come in contact with our grid transformer causing an imbalance in the system," Sri Lankan energy minister Kumara Jayakody said, as per the AFP report.
"Engineers are attending to it to try and restore the service as soon as possible," the minister said.
The state power entity restored power at the national hospital and other key installations after an hour of the outage, he added.
The official said people were warned that drinking water supplies could be badly affected.
In 2022, Sri Lankans had suffered months of electricity blackouts when the country plunged into an economic crisis.
Fuel stations ran out of petrol and diesel, forcing thermal power stations to ration electricity to 13 hours each day.
59 Lankans recruited by Russia died in Ukraine war
At least 59 of the 554 Sri Lankans have perished in the Ukraine war fighting for Russia, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament on Friday.
“According to the information received by January 20 this year, 554 were recruited for the Russian military service,” Herath said.
There was no forcible enlisting of the Sri Lankans by Russia, Herath said adding, Colombo has been continuing its talks with the Russians to delist and send them back.
Sri Lanka also pressed the Russians to discontinue the recruitment of Sri Lankans to fight in the war.
Sri Lankan police last year arrested two retired generals and six others for illegally acting as recruiting agents for Russian mercenary firms.
Local reports said that the hardships faced by common people in the aftermath of the island nation’s economic crisis prompted the ex-soldiers to join in to fight the war for both sides.
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First Published:9 Feb 2025, 06:18 PM IST
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