New York plunged into darkness with thousands trapped without power after 'explosion'
The problem was caused by a fault on a power line at a Con Edison facility on John Street in Dumbo.
New York: Smoke rises from substation in Brooklyn
People in New York were left trapped in elevators across the city while some commuters were stuck on the subway after a power cut.
The power cut came as a result of a power outage at a Con Edison plant in Brooklyn.
Black smoke was seen billowing over the facility just before midnight on Thursday.
A momentary power outage then followed, leaving New York City in chaos as many people found themselves trapped in elevators or on the subway for up to 20 minutes.
Motorists even reported traffic lights blinking on the roads in Lower Manhattan, the Upper East Side, Bed-Stuy, Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City.
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Footage during the power outage showed a security guard at a Wegmans store in Brooklyn being rescued from an elevator by firefighters.
Con Edison said the problem was caused by a fault on a power line at its facility on John Street in Dumbo.
Most electricity is now back in the city.
In a statement, Con Edison said: "A fault on a high-tension transmission line occurred at a Con Edison substation in Brooklyn at approximately 11:55pm last night.
"Customers may have experienced a dip or surge in power at that time. Crews are investigating and working to make necessary repairs."
— Phil NYC (@PhilWalkable) December 15, 2023
People all over New York City were left furious, with many taking to social media to complain.
One resident said: "My mom and I were just talking in the kitchen and the lights momentarily went out.
"We both just stared at each other and wondered what the hell happened. Thanks for scaring me to hell and back Con Ed."
Another user wrote: "Light just flickered, what's up NYC?"
A third said: "So all of us in NYC suddenly got a power outage??"
Another added: "NYC power outage just happened while I was halfway through the new Netflix movie Leave the World Behind. Wife and I are freaked the f*** out."
Sean Scott, 30, a software engineer who was at home in Manhattan, told the New York Times: “The lights flickered twice briefly.
"I looked outside and I saw some streetlights flickering.
“Then I felt a soft boom and saw a fireball and I saw the smoke,”
Anna Di, 32, a chiropractor in Manhattan, described the explosion as an “orange glow”.
She added: “It was just shocking to see this ball of fire across the water."
