Sri Lanka plunged into darkness as nationwide power grid fails

The island nation of Sri Lanka ground to a halt on Tuesday as a nationwide blackout left millions without electricity. The outage disrupted essential services, transportation networks, and daily operations across residential and commercial areas. Power generation facilities reported technical failures that cascaded through the national grid, leaving consumers in the dark with no immediate solution in sight.

Energy officials acknowledged the scale of the crisis but stopped short of offering specific restoration estimates. The blackout underscores the vulnerability of Sri Lanka's ageing power infrastructure, which has faced mounting pressure from fuel shortages and limited generation capacity in recent months. Hospitals, water treatment plants, and communication networks switched to backup generators where available, though supplies remained limited.

The incident represents one of the most severe power disruptions to strike the country in recent years. Authorities urged the public to exercise caution and conserve energy where possible, though such measures held little immediate impact given the complete loss of grid power. Officials promised to release updated information as repair efforts progressed, leaving citizens and businesses bracing for an extended period without electricity.