Brussels hit by power outage

[BRUSSELS] A power cut plunged several neighbourhoods of Brussels into darkness overnight after an unknown problem hit the grid, the Belgian capital's electricity distributor said Friday.

"We are getting electricity again from (grid operator) Elia. We are gradually starting to restore the affected areas," Sibelga tweeted shortly after midnight.

The power outage hit the neighbourhoods of Schaerbeek, Evere and Saint-Josse, in the northwest of the city, at 10.40 pm (2140 GMT), according to a Sibelga spokesman quoted by the Belga news agency.

Five of the 48 high-voltage stations in Brussels were no longer powered by Elia, according to the spokesman.

Radio programmes of the French-language public channel RTBF, headquartered in Schaerbeek, were affected by the blackout.

Various RTBF stations broadcast continuous music instead of their usual programmes.

Worried residents contacted police, Belga said, but on social networks others took it in their stride, delighted to spend a romantic candlelit evening, with some even predicting a baby boom in nine months' time.

AFP