Saturday August 9, 2008 MYT 8:40:09 PM
Blackout in Sarawak
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: A state-wide power cut in Sarawak on Saturday evening saw the blackout affect more than two million people over a distance of 1,000km from Kuching to Miri.
Cities and towns in the state were plunged into total darkness causing massive chaos as everybody was caught by surprise.
The power failure started in Kuching at about 6.30pm Saturday and rapidly spread northward to Sibu then to Miri by 7.30pm.
Deputy chief minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam when contacted by The Star confirmed that it was a blackout that seemed to have affected the main power grid.
"We (the state government) want to find out the source of the blackout. We need to know exactly what has triggered this massive state-wide blackout.
At 8.30pm Saturday the cause of the incident is still unknown.
Dr Chan, who is the state Industrial Development Minister, said that the Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (Sesco) is in the midst of trying to re-connect the power supply as soon as possible.
The state authority hopes that the people remain calm.
Meanwhile, thousands of people who were caught up in the massive traffic jam and in commercial complexes were reportedly evacuated without any incidents so far.
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