New York City was plunged into darkness last night after parts of Manhattan were hit by a blackout.
Times Square, Midtown and Hell’s Kitchen were all among the areas left without electricity, which began at 6.47pm.
Broadway shows were forced to halt their performances, while Jennifer Lopez had to abandon her concert at Madison Square Garden after just four songs.
The New York City Fire Department said the outages were caused by a transformer fire which started at West 64th Street and West End Avenue on the Upper West Side.
More than 73,000 Con Edison customers without power until the lights came back on the next day.
During the blackout, New Yorkers shared pictures and videos of themselves at train stations, eating in restaurants or trapped in lifts in the dark.
Jeff O’Malley, 57, said he was stuck on a train carriage for about 75 minutes.
He said: ‘It’s completely dark [in the station]. People were coming up using their flashlights on their phones.’
Some Broadway shows decided to continue their cancelled performances in the street, with cast members from Waitress, Hadestown and Rock of Ages singing in the open-air.
Jennifer Lopez told her fans she was ‘devastated and heartbroken’ by her cancelled concert, but vowed to reschedule the performance for Monday.
Videos shared online showed members of the public stepping into the road in a bid to try and help direct traffic.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the power outage ‘unacceptable’ and said the Department of Public Service would be investigating the blackout.
He sent 100 State Police officers and some National Guard troops to help with traffic control during the blackout.
The outage occurred on the 42nd anniversary of a New York blackout that crippled nearly the entire city during a heat wave on July 13, 1977.
Con Edison and New York officials said power was restored just before midnight.
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