Spain’s medium and long-distance trains won’t resume service today

Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente has said medium and long-distance trains will likely not return to normal service today.

The minister wrote on X: “Today it is not expected that the circulation of medium and long-distance trains will be restored… We are working so that, once the electricity supply is restored, we can resume those services, which will no longer be possible today.”

Panic-buying hits Spain & Portugal

Panic-stricken shoppers in Spain and Portugal are clearing out shelves and leaving supermarkets bare after the catastrophic power outages.

Chilling pictures posted on social media show bare supermarket shelves after panic-shopping swept across the regions fighting with the power cut.

Footage shows people forming huge queues outside grocery stores and ATMS to stockpile essential items and prepare for mayhem that could last for days.

There are fears that thugs will exploit the chaos to loot shops which have been flooded with customers stockpiling groceries.

Shoppers share chilling supermarket experience

One shopper Alfonso Romay wrote on X: “It’s incredible, the collective paranoia. The power goes out for 5 hours, and look at the supermarket.

“The water jugs in the image lasted less than 1 minute.”

Supermarket shelves sit empty across Portugal and Spain

All of Spain’s nuclear reactors safe from power outages

The operators of Spain’s nuclear reactors are preparing to reconnect to the power grid as they recover their external electricity supply, the country’s nuclear safety council said on Monday.

The only exception is the Trillo plant, which is shut down for refuelling, it said.

The nuclear safety council had said earlier that the reactors were in safe condition after a power blackout hit the country.

Four reactors stopped operating automatically after the outage, after which emergency generators kicked in.

For three reactors that weren’t in operation at the time, emergency generators also started working to keep them in a safe condition, the council said.

Spain’s PM says no conclusive information on cause of mass blackout

There was no conclusive information yet on the cause of the power blackout that has affected most of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday.

Power restored in parts of Spain

Spain is aiming to restore power nationwide “soon” after a massive blackout affecting the Iberian Peninsula brought the country to a halt on Monday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.

Interconnections with neighbouring France and Morocco have already partially restored supply, while “combined cycles and hydroelectric plants throughout the country have also been reactivated, which should allow us to recover the supply across Spain soon”, Sanchez said in a televised address.

Spanish PM speaks on power outage

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is now speaking on the widespread power outage.

The PM said the cause of the power outage is still unknown, but hopes to get things back to normal by tomorrow.

Sanchez also warned people to avoid speculations, saying that no cause can be “discredited at the moment”.

Transport ‘screeched to a halt’

Tourist Pius Bentgens was on a tram when the power outages began.

He told The Sun: “Suddenly the tram just came to a halt.

“We could tell something was off because the air conditioning stopped – it felt eerily quiet.

“Then texts started coming in from a friend on the other side of the city that power was out there as well.”

Travel chaos as flights and trains cancelled

Trains and flights have been cancelled across Spain and Portugal following the power outage.

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Brits abroad ‘living in a horror film’ amid power outage chaos

Publican John Stevenson, 53, is on holiday with his wife and two adult children after jetting out to Barcelona on Tuesday last week.

He said: “The first thing I noticed was I couldn’t get down from the fifth floor of my hotel, I thought it was just us to begin with.

“I went down to the supermarket and the whole place was in complete darkness, it was absolutely surreal. It was like a horror film.

“I was able to pay in cash, but at this point in a holiday I have just a little bit that I was looking to get rid of at the airport. If this went on for days it would be hell.

“I’ve got a higher car and will be driving to the airport later, but I’m nearly empty on fuel and I’ve not been able to fill up anywhere.

“It just goes to show you, everything can go from being fine, to be in potentially dangerous, completely out of the blue.”

The dad, of Southampton, Hants, added: “We are too reliant on technology. I’ve always told my kids this, and now I can see.

“I just hope nobody was hurt during this. It’s mayhem.”

Fearful locals stockpiling on essentials

In dark supermarkets that have decided to remain open, long cues of local residence were seen, some stockpiling things like toilet paper.

The Sun has seen some turned away from one store, with frightened workers telling people the shortage had spread to France and other countries.

The roads in Barcelona were gridlocked, and with no traffic lights drivers were battling for their chance to pull out of junctions.

Brits unable to get home in time for work as they remain stuck on holiday

Ashley Brown, 38, of Newcastle, was planning to fly home this afternoon but her plans were cut short after all card payments were cut off.

The hair stylist, who is on holiday with a pal, told The Sun: “We were looking at getting the train back to the airport but there’s no way of paying.

“All payments are down. I can’t draw any money out. It’s an absolute nightmare. I’m meant to see clients in the morning and I can’t call to cancel.”

She added: “It’s things like this that really put it into perspective for you. I’ve got no way of paying for anything, and it’s really difficult to get something simple like a bottle of water.

“My flight is gone and there’s no way I’m gonna be able to explain this, I can’t even call back home.”

‘It’s like being in a Netflix drama’

Portuguese musician Nuno Feist, 53, from Lisbon, told The Sun that the power outages has made people feel like they’re living in a Netflix show.

He said: “It’s like the dark ages here, we don’t have access to news, and we can’t turn on the TV.

“It’s like being in the Netflix drama Zero Day. We believe it is a cyber attack.”

‘Living off beers and biscuits’ in southern Portugal

Melanie Halsall is on the last day of a padel trip with six pals to Vale de Lobo, southern Portugal, and can’t get back into the hotel room.

She told The Sun: “We were on a walk when suddenly everything went out.

“We can’t buy anything because the card machines aren’t working – not even water or ice cream. But we have got beer and biscuits so we’re surviving on that.

“Everyone is saying it’s a Russian cyber attack. It’s quite worrying. We’re all mums and need to contact our families, but our phones are about to run out and we can’t charge them.”

Despite ice cream ‘half price,’ outages are a ‘mega ball-ache’

A Brit, 29, on holiday in Barcelona, has dubbed the power outages a “mega ball ache” – but ice cream is being handed out for half price.

They also shared their fears that “looting” could begin later as day turns to night.

The Northampton local said: “It’s been half price on ice cream. Aside from that it’s a mega ball-ache.”

Towns ‘ghost like’ in Portugal

Holidaymakers in Portugal have told The Sun of the towns being “ghost-like,” with hospitals cancelling on patients and flights grounded.

One individual in Tavira told The Sun: “We have had no power since around 11:30am.

“The restaurants are trying to keep going with many cooking on gas, the shopping malls are empty as shops are closed.

“The town in general is very ghost like and it’s very strange.”

In case you missed it – hospitals in Portugal cancel ALL surgeries

The Misericórdia hospitals cancelled all surgeries scheduled for today following the outage.

Manuel Lemos, president of the National Secretariat of the Union of Portuguese Misericórdias (UMP), told the Expresso newspaper: “We are finishing the surgeries that are underway and we will not start any more until the situation is resolved,” he explained.

Things gone from ‘being fine’ to ‘potentially dangerous’

Publican John Stevenson, 53, is on holiday with his wife and two adult children after jetting out to Barcelona on Tuesday last week.

He said: “The first thing I noticed was I couldn’t get down from the fifth floor of my hotel, I thought it was just us to begin with.

“I went down to the supermarket and the whole place was in complete darkness, it was absolutely surreal. It was like a horror film.

“I was able to pay in cash, but at this point in a holiday I have just a little bit that I was looking to get rid of at the airport. If this went on for days it would be hell.

“I’ve got a higher car and will be driving to the airport later, but I’m nearly empty on fuel and I’ve not been able to fill up anywhere.

“It just goes to show you, everything can go from being fine, to be in potentially dangerous, completely out of the blue.”

The dad, of Southampton, Hants, added: “We are too reliant on technology. I’ve always told my kids this, and now I can see.

“I just hope nobody was hurt during this. It’s mayhem.”

Shops, restaurants and Metro stations close

Shops and restaurants have been forced to close folliowing the outage, which some believe to be a cyber attack.

Holidaymakers ‘can’t even buy water’ amid outage chaos

Stunned Brits have told of their fears at being stuck in Barcelona after the city was brought to a halt in a massive power cut.

Phone signal is down in the holiday hotspot, traffic lights have failed and the only payment method available is cash.

Ashley Brown, 38, of Newcastle, was planning to fly home this afternoon but her plans were cut short after all card payments were cut off.

The hair stylist, who is on holiday with a pal, told The Sun: “We were looking at getting the train back to the airport but there’s no way of paying.

“All payments are down. I can’t draw any money out. It’s an absolute nightmare. I’m meant to see clients in the morning and I can’t call to cancel.”

She added: “It’s things like this that really put it into perspective for you. I’ve got no way of paying for anything, and it’s really difficult to get something simple like a bottle of water.

“My flight is gone and there’s no way I’m gonna be able to explain this, I can’t even call back home.”

A number of flights have departed from Barcelona airport, but the roads surrounding the travel hub are chock full of traffic.

The airport is believed to be running on emergency power supplies. But hundreds of Brits are struggling to get out of the city.

Travellers urged to follow government and airline advice

Which? have issued advice for travellers who may have been affected by the Spain and Portugal power outages.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: “The power outages in Spain and Portugal will have a significant knock on effect for those travelling to and from both countries.

“Crucially, follow the advice from local emergency services and government if you are already in Spain. Some municipalities have asked for people to stay at home.

“If you are due to travel today or tomorrow, check the advice from your airport or tour operator or airline apps and airport social media feeds for the most up to date advice.”

France briefly lost power, says grid operator

Some areas in France temporarily lost power following the outages in Spain and Portugal, Reuters news agency reports, citing French grid operator RTE.

A spokeswoman for RTE gave no further detail on the extent of the outage, but says that power has now resumed after the brief interruption.

In pictures – latest images from Portugal

Here are some of the latest images coming in from Lisbon.

‘It’s like being in a Netflix drama’

Portuguese musician Nuno Feist, 53, of Lisbon, told The Sun: “It’s like the dark ages here, we don’t have access to news, and we can’t turn on the TV.

“It’s like being in the Netflix drama Zero Day. We believe it is a cyber attack.”