Nationwide Blackout Hits Columbia

Colombia's electrical grid collapsed Thursday, causing a nationwide
blackout that briefly halted stock trading, trapped people in elevators
and left authorities struggling to determine the cause.

President
Alvaro Uribe told journalists in the southern city of Cali that the
blackout, which began at midmorning, "appears to have affected the
entire country."

Luis Alarcon, manager of state-controlled
electricity distributor ISA, issued a statement that the power outage
apparently began with an undetermined technical glitch at a substation
in Bogota and quickly spread to the rest of the country.

He said work crews had re-established power to about 20 percent of the country and hoped to reconnect the rest in a few hours.

Bogota's
stock exchange resumed trading around noon as power returned. It said
trading would be extended for an hour to make up for the suspension.

RCN
television reported that power had returned to central Bogota, and to
parts of the city's northern districts, where many companies have their
headquarters.

Rosa Ortiz, who runs a cigarette stand at a busy
intersection in Bogota, said that with traffic lights knocked out,
"we've seen a few near accidents, but so far the drivers seem to be
adapting to the situation."