Temporary blackout hits Venezuela, including parts of capital

A power outage hit a wide area of eastern Caracas and several cities in the interior of Venezuela for at least two hours Friday, AFP reports.

The outage started at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT) and service began being restored about two hours later.

Electricity Minister Jesse Chacon said the blackout affected Aragua state, which includes the east of the capital, as well as Miranda, Carabobo and Falcon states, and the Andean region.

"In an hour, we hope to start re-establishing service," the minister said.

According to Globovision, the outage was affecting at least five states.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in the middle of a televised national meeting when the power went out -- though the broadcast, which was being taped in an unaffected area of the capital, was not interrupted.

"We are going to investigate," he said.

In eastern Caracas, people were trapped in skyscraper elevators, and in the underground train service's trains and tunnels.

On December 3, 2013, a major blackout in Venezuela affected 70 percent of the country for around four hours.

The problems are often sparked when the power transmission lines are overloaded.