Blackout Hits Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula

September 2, 2003

MERIDA, Mexico (AFP) - Residents and tourists on Mexico's southern Yucatan peninsula spent about six hours without electricity Tuesday after a power substation failed, authorities said.

The blackout spread across three states and lasted from 3:00 am (0800 GMT) to 9:00 am (1400 GMT), said Jose Martinez, spokesman for the Federal Electricity Commission. Some three million people were affected, he said.

The popular coastal resort of Cancun in Quintana Roo state was hardest-hit, with businesses closed and thousands of tourists briefly stranded. The resort is to host a major World Trade Organization gathering next week.

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