Argentina, Uruguay restore power after massive blackout

Electricity services have been restored to all of Argentina and Uruguay following a massive blackout that left around 48 million people without power on Sunday, authorities said.

The cut, which began just after 7:00 am, also caused short, localized losses of power in Paraguay, but didn't impact Tierra del Fuego in Argentina's extreme south because the region is not part of the national system.

The episode was the first time a power cut had affected the majority of Argentina, with a population of more than 44 million, and the entirety of Uruguay, which has 3.4 million inhabitants.

"These are failures that occur (even) with diligence. The amazing thing is the chain of events that took place to cause the total disconnection," Argentina's Energy Ministry Gustavo Lopetegui told a press conference.

He said the outage took place "automatically to protect the system." "We don't have any more information right now on how it occurred. We're not ruling out any possibility, but a cyber attack is not among the main alternatives being considered."