SANTIAGO, Feb 26 (V7N) — A major blackout plunged millions of Chileans into darkness on Tuesday, bringing daily life to a standstill in one of South America's most developed power grids.

The outage, described as the worst in over a decade, stretched from Arica in the north to Los Lagos in the south, affecting 90% of Chile’s 20 million residents, according to the Senapred disaster response agency.

In Santiago, the metro system—which transports 2.3 million passengers daily—came to a halt, forcing the evacuation of thousands of commuters.

"They let us leave work because of the power cut, but now I don't know how we will get home because all the buses are full," said Maria Angelica Roman, 45, in Santiago.

Traffic lights also went out, causing severe gridlock, while businesses and banks shut down early.

At an amusement park in the capital, people were trapped on a mechanical ride several meters high before being rescued, local media reported.

President Gabriel Boric surveyed the capital by helicopter, while Interior Minister Carolina Toha dismissed sabotage fears.

"There is no reason to assume that this is an attack," Toha said, adding that a technical failure was the likely cause.

Chile’s hospital system and prisons switched to emergency generators as authorities scrambled to restore power.

Chile boasts one of South America's most reliable power grids, making such a widespread failure highly unusual.

The last blackout of this magnitude occurred in 2010, when an 8.8-magnitude earthquake crippled the power system a month after killing more than 500 people.

Officials assured residents that power would return “in the coming hours.”

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