AN EXPLOSION  in an electrical substation in Penonome shut down Panama’s metro line, caused traffic chaos, trapped people in elevators and left homes and businesses without power for three and a half hours, on Tuesday, June 27.

The outage began at noon and the  Electric Transmission Company, S.A ,(Etesa) reported that 100% of the electrical load in the country had been restored. at 3:30 p.m. after affecting several provinces

Etesa said that the fault was registered in the substation El Coco in Penonomé. The provinces of Panama, West Panama and part of Chiriquí and Colón were without the power.

The blackout shut down  Panama Metro, and passengers were evacuated from all stations.

The fire department in San Miguelito rescued two people who were trapped in an elevator when the power went off. There were similar instances in other parts of the city

Traffic lights were out creating blocked intersections and traffic jams across the city.