TOKYO, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A crane struck electrical cables in Tokyo Monday morning, causing a 3-hour blackout that affected 1.4 million customers and paralyzed public transit.
Officials of Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the crane was on a barge in the Kyu-Edogawa and the incident blacked out 14 of the capital's 23 wards, the Asahi Shimbun reported.
The utility said there are two power lines, one of which was supposed to act as a backup but both were damaged by the crane.
The Tokyo Fire Department said its rescue units responded to 58 reports of people trapped in elevators, although there were no reports of major fire or traffic accidents. Tokyo police officers worked intersections after traffic signals at roughly 400 locations went dark, officials said.
Tokyo Disneyland also lost power, causing an unprecedented one-hour delay in opening its gates, Voice of America reported.
