Massive Power Outage Causes Chaos in Athens

[*Bela Lugosi*]

From http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/arti...12094309990001

ATHENS, Greece (July 13) - The worst blackout in more than a decade hit Athens and southern Greece on Monday, leaving millions sweltering in a heat wave and raising concerns about whether the lights will go out at next month's Olympics.

The government blamed the three-hour capital outage on "mismanagement'' of the electricity grid. Still, officials promised the network was ready to handle the Aug. 13-29 Olympics.

But it was yet another hurdle in Athens' attempt to convince the world it is ready to host well-run and safe games. Olympics preparations have come under criticism because of construction delays and concerns over security arrangements to stop terror attacks.

The blackout knocked out air conditioners as afternoon temperatures soared to 104 degrees Monday. The power failure created enormous traffic jams from failed traffic signals and stalled electric trolleys. Hundreds of passengers on the Athens subway were forced to leave trains and walk, and the fire department received hundreds of calls about people trapped in elevators.

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