A power outage occurred at about 11 a.m. yesterday in the vicinity of China Plaza and Rua do Campo, causing people to be stuck in lifts and several government bureaus as well as private businesses to temporarily stop working.
Firefighters at the scene told reporters that three men were rescued from the lifts in China Plaza, while the police there said that people self-evacuated from the building in an orderly manner.
According to the police, about a dozen shops on the ground floor were affected, and government bureaus there had to temporarily stop working.
Power utility CEM said in a statement yesterday that a total of 893 of its customers had been affected by the power cut. After repairs, electricity was back on at 11:38 a.m. and the power supply was fully back to normal at 1:12 p.m.
According to the statement, the “failure of the medium-voltage customer substation in China Plaza caused a trip, resulting in a power outage in the central district”. However, CEM said that an investigation was still going on to find out what actually caused the power cut.
The Identifications Services Bureau (DSI) said in a notice on its website yesterday that people who were affected by the suspension of services due to the power cut could submit their applications within a week or call to reschedule their appointment.
The building also houses the Government Information Bureau (GCS), Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) and other government entities.
Firefighters and police officers are seen outside China Plaza yesterday morning. Photo: MPD
