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Photos: Venezuala citizens bear the brunt of a massive power outage

Venezuela on Friday suffered its worst power and communications outage on Friday. As the capital city Caracas remained in darkness, the outage left most of the country in disarray, crippling day-to-day functioning of hospitals and other public services. Venezuela has suffered more than four years of recession that has seen poverty soar as citizens struggle with food and medicine shortages. So the blackout came at an already stressful time -- and made matters worse. Power was gradually restored in some parts of Caracas.

Updated on: Mar 10, 2019 3:39 PM IST

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Journalists use their smartphones during a power cut in Caracas. Venezuela’s worst power and communications outage on Friday deepened a sense of isolation and decay, endangering hospital patients, forcing schools and businesses to close and cutting people off from their families, friends and the outside world.While electricity returned to some parts of Caracas nearly 24 hours after lights, phones and the internet stopped working, several other populous cities remained in the dark as evening approached. (Matias Delacroix / AFP)

Updated on Mar 10, 2019 3:39 PM

Journalists use their smartphones during a power cut in Caracas. Venezuela’s worst power and communications outage on Friday deepened a sense of isolation and decay, endangering hospital patients, forcing schools and businesses to close and cutting people off from their families, friends and the outside world.While electricity returned to some parts of Caracas nearly 24 hours after lights, phones and the internet stopped working, several other populous cities remained in the dark as evening approached. (Matias Delacroix / AFP)

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Light trails left by moving traffic are seen in darkness during a continued power outage in the Los Palos Grandes neighbourhood of Caracas. The blackout came amid a weeks-long struggle for control, with Washington backing opposition leader Juan Guaido’s bid to unseat the autocratic President Nicolas Maduro. Hours after the country went dark Thursday, the Maduro camp sought to hold Washington responsible, accusing the U.S. of sabotaging the grid. (Carlos Becerra / Bloomberg)

Updated on Mar 10, 2019 3:39 PM

Light trails left by moving traffic are seen in darkness during a continued power outage in the Los Palos Grandes neighbourhood of Caracas. The blackout came amid a weeks-long struggle for control, with Washington backing opposition leader Juan Guaido’s bid to unseat the autocratic President Nicolas Maduro. Hours after the country went dark Thursday, the Maduro camp sought to hold Washington responsible, accusing the U.S. of sabotaging the grid. (Carlos Becerra / Bloomberg)

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A photojournalist works during a power cut in Caracas. Citizens reported blackouts from the Andes to the Caribbean coast, in about 19 of 23 states. The socialist government blamed an attack on the nation’s biggest and most closely guarded hydroelectric plant, but other sources of electricity failed to pick up the slack, including thermoelectric units in the country’s centre and west. (Matias Delacroix / AFP)

Updated on Mar 10, 2019 3:39 PM

A photojournalist works during a power cut in Caracas. Citizens reported blackouts from the Andes to the Caribbean coast, in about 19 of 23 states. The socialist government blamed an attack on the nation’s biggest and most closely guarded hydroelectric plant, but other sources of electricity failed to pick up the slack, including thermoelectric units in the country’s centre and west. (Matias Delacroix / AFP)

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Residents lit by the lights of vehicles walk during the blackout in the Los Palos Grandes neighbourhood of Caracas. On Friday, the government suspended work and school in the country of 30 million after thousands were forced to walk home on darkened highways and avenues the evening before. (Carlos Becerra / Bloomberg)

Updated on Mar 10, 2019 3:39 PM

Residents lit by the lights of vehicles walk during the blackout in the Los Palos Grandes neighbourhood of Caracas. On Friday, the government suspended work and school in the country of 30 million after thousands were forced to walk home on darkened highways and avenues the evening before. (Carlos Becerra / Bloomberg)

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Residents sit on a bus during the blackout in the Chacaito neighbourhood of Caracas. Miguel Lara, a former director of Venezuela’s power grid, said from Sao Paulo on Friday that the blackout showed the deterioration of the infrastructure is even worse than imagined. “Practically nothing is working anymore, not even the backup thermal-power plants,” he said. “We don’t have the replacement parts, the trained personnel.” (Carlos Becerra / Bloomberg)

Updated on Mar 10, 2019 3:39 PM

Residents sit on a bus during the blackout in the Chacaito neighbourhood of Caracas. Miguel Lara, a former director of Venezuela’s power grid, said from Sao Paulo on Friday that the blackout showed the deterioration of the infrastructure is even worse than imagined. “Practically nothing is working anymore, not even the backup thermal-power plants,” he said. “We don’t have the replacement parts, the trained personnel.” (Carlos Becerra / Bloomberg)

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Picture taken in a closed mall in Caracas during the power outage. Rolling blackouts and water shortages have become a near-daily occurrence across Venezuela as infrastructure falls into disarray after years of mismanagement and exodus of personnel. Major cities and towns often lose power for hours at a time. According to industry analysts, the electrical crisis is due to neglect amid the country’s economic collapse. (Cristian Hernandez / AFP)

Updated on Mar 10, 2019 3:39 PM

Picture taken in a closed mall in Caracas during the power outage. Rolling blackouts and water shortages have become a near-daily occurrence across Venezuela as infrastructure falls into disarray after years of mismanagement and exodus of personnel. Major cities and towns often lose power for hours at a time. According to industry analysts, the electrical crisis is due to neglect amid the country’s economic collapse. (Cristian Hernandez / AFP)

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An injured man is carried by paramedics inside Miguel Perez Carreno hospital, in Caracas. The outage had left most of the country in disarray, crippling day-to-day functioning of hospitals and other public services. Witnesses described scenes of chaos at several hospitals as people tried to move sick relatives in the dark to clinics with better emergency power facilities. (Matias Delacroix / AFP)

Updated on Mar 10, 2019 3:39 PM

An injured man is carried by paramedics inside Miguel Perez Carreno hospital, in Caracas. The outage had left most of the country in disarray, crippling day-to-day functioning of hospitals and other public services. Witnesses described scenes of chaos at several hospitals as people tried to move sick relatives in the dark to clinics with better emergency power facilities. (Matias Delacroix / AFP)

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Juan Guaido, president of the National Assembly who swore himself in as the leader of Venezuela, speaks on International Women's Day following major blackouts in the Los Palos Grandes neighbourhood of Caracas. Guaido said Venezuela was blessed with natural resources, but cursed by a usurper. The US is one of 60 countries backing Guaido in his bid to form a transition government, saying Maduro’s latest term is illegitimate because it stemmed from a fraudulent election. (Carlos Becerra / Bloomberg)

Updated on Mar 10, 2019 3:39 PM

Juan Guaido, president of the National Assembly who swore himself in as the leader of Venezuela, speaks on International Women's Day following major blackouts in the Los Palos Grandes neighbourhood of Caracas. Guaido said Venezuela was blessed with natural resources, but cursed by a usurper. The US is one of 60 countries backing Guaido in his bid to form a transition government, saying Maduro’s latest term is illegitimate because it stemmed from a fraudulent election. (Carlos Becerra / Bloomberg)

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Commuters unable to use the subway due to a partial power cut, flock to the streets in Caracas. Both Guaido and Maduro, who are locked in a bitter power struggle for the right to lead the oil-rich South American nation, have asked their supporters to fill the streets of Caracas and other cities. (Matias Delacroix / AFP)

Updated on Mar 10, 2019 3:39 PM

Commuters unable to use the subway due to a partial power cut, flock to the streets in Caracas. Both Guaido and Maduro, who are locked in a bitter power struggle for the right to lead the oil-rich South American nation, have asked their supporters to fill the streets of Caracas and other cities. (Matias Delacroix / AFP)

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Traffic policemen direct traffic at an intersection during the power cut in Caracas. Power was gradually being restored to large areas of Caracas on Friday afternoon, as well as parts of Miranda state and Vargas, which contains the country’s international airport. (Matias Delacroix / AFP)

Updated on Mar 10, 2019 3:39 PM

Traffic policemen direct traffic at an intersection during the power cut in Caracas. Power was gradually being restored to large areas of Caracas on Friday afternoon, as well as parts of Miranda state and Vargas, which contains the country’s international airport. (Matias Delacroix / AFP)

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