Pakistan blackout leaves 200 million without power

Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A failure in Pakistan's national power grid left more than 200 million people without electricity Saturday, local officials said.

The widespread blackout happened just before midnight, plunging the major cities of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar into darkness, Energy Minister Omar Ayub said. He added that mobile and Internet services also were affected.

Ayub said the power grid failed after high transmission lines tripped, causing the frequency in the distribution system to drop suddenly from 50 to zero. Officials said it could take several hours for power to be restored.

"Systematic restoration of power will be initiated soon," representatives from the Energy Ministry said. "Once the initial frequency is met, the restoration work speeds up."

"People are urged to remain patient," Ayub said.