Alarm as Georgia suffers 'nationwide blackout' with cities plunged into darkness

Alarm as Georgia suffers 'nationwide blackout' with cities plunged into darkness People living in Georgia have reported huge power outages across the whole country tonight, with millions potentially affected by the massive blackout The lights have gone out across the nation of Georgia with power outages hitting huge swathes of the former Soviet republic including the capital Tbilisi. Citizens in Tbilisi, Rustavi, Batumi and other major cities have reported outages shortly after midnight local time (9pm UK time). The full scale of the disruption remains unclear and Georgian authorities have yet to make a statement but local media have cited the country's electricity operator Electrosystem in a statement. The state-run company, which operates the country’s electricity transmission system, reportedly said the outage was caused by the disconnection of the power line linking the Georgian and Turkish electricity systems. This has led to restricted power supply in most parts of the country. "Even Tbilisi TV Tower has gone dark," internet users report. One Reddit user posted on the r/Tbilisi subreddit asking: "Anyone else experiencing an electricity outage? The whole city seems to be affected from my balcony view." Another user said: "It's gone literally everywhere. Even the Andza radio tower has no electricity." The TV broadcasting tower is a famous local landmark, the 277.5-meter-tall free-standing telecommunications tower is located on Mtatsminda Mountain in Tbilisi. Approximately 3.8 to 3.9 million people live in the country, which lies on the Russian border in the Caucasus region on the coast of the Black Sea. About one third of Georgia's population lives in Tbilisi. The cause of the power line disconnection remains unclear.