FDNY races to rescue New Yorkers trapped in dark ELEVATORS as the Big Apple and New Jersey is plunged into chaos by sudden mass power outage sparked by 'explosion' at Con Edison plant

Daily Mail ^ | 12/15/23 | Kamal Sultan, Bethan Sexton

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The New York City Fire Department was forced to save people from elevators across the city and commuters were trapped on the subway after a fault at a Con Edison plant in Brooklyn caused power outages.

Black smoke was seen coming from the power facility in Brooklyn at 11.55pm on Thursday night and a momentary power outage followed with lights flickering for a few seconds.

It plunged the city into chaos temporarily with multiple reports of people trapped in elevators and stuck on the subway for up to 20 minutes. Some motorists also reported blinking traffic lights.

Alarming footage showed a security guard at a Wegmans store in Brooklyn being rescued from an elevator by firefighters. At Grand Central station all elevators and escalators were out of service due to the power issue.

Con Edison said the issue was due to a fault on a power line at its facility on John Street in Dumbo. Most electricity is back up and running.

Lights were reported flickering in neighborhoods including Lower Manhattan, the Upper East Side, Bed-Stuy, Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City.

The New York City Fire Department was quickly at the scene and sirens were seen flashing from the Con Edison plant after the failure. New York City Police Department officers were also spotted outside the gates of the facility.

Con Edison told DailyMail.com its crews are investigating the power failure. 'A fault on a high-tension transmission line occurred at a Con Edison substation in Brooklyn at approximately 11:55 pm last night,' a spokesman said.

'Customers may have experienced a dip or surge in power at that time. Crews are investigating and working to make necessary repairs.'

Residents across New York City complained about the brief power cut with most left confused about the outage.

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-PJ