Electricity has been restored to Kyrgyzstan and some parts of neighboring Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan after problems on the regional energy grid knocked out supplies.
Kyrgyz Energy and Industry Ministry spokeswoman Jiide Zootbekova said supplies had resumed after the power outage on January 25, which was caused by unspecified problems in the united energy grid that connects the three Central Asian countries.
The Uzbek Energy Ministry said that the power outage hit Tashkent, the capital, and towns and cities in the regions of Ferghana, Sirdaryo, Jizzaq, Samarkand, Navoi, and Qashqadaryo at around 11 a.m.
Tashkent city authorities said hours later that the electricity supply to the capital had been restored.
The Uzbek Emergency Ministry said a rescue team managed to evacuate dozens of tourists from the Amirsoy ski resort near Tashkent, who due to the power outage had been stuck on lifts.
In Kazakhstan, the power blackout hit the country's largest city, Almaty, and the southern cities of Shymkent, Taraz, and Taldyqorghan.
In Almaty, a brief electricity outage was reported in several districts.
Kazakhstan's system operator of the Unified Power System (KEGOC) said the outage was caused by extra power delivery to the country's south and southeast after the distribution system faced problems in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
In Kyrgyzstan, Energy Minister Doskul Bekmurzaev told reporters that a joint Kyrgyz-Kazakh-Uzbek commission will work to determine the outage's cause and prevent similar blackouts in future.
