A widespread power outage plunged parts of the Belgian capital Brussels into darkness on Thursday night.

Pictures posted on social media showed blacked-out streets, lit only by a handful of car headlights and torches.

The power outage hit the neighbourhoods of Schaerbeek, Evere and Saint-Josse,

Sibelga, the power company, and Elia, the network operator, confirmed there was a fault in the city's electricity grid and said power was gradually being restored to affected areas.

The power failure reportedly began at about 22.45 local time (21:45 GMT).

Traffic lights were reportedly knocked out in parts of the city.

The cause of the power failure is still unknown. </s> The city of Brussels was plunged into darkness Thursday because of a mysterious power outage.

The sounds of sirens were reported throughout the Belgian capital, which was the site of a coordinated terror attack last year that killed 32 civilians and injured hundreds more.

Videos and photos posted on social media showed the eerie scene.

“Power out as far as I can see in all directions,” tweeted Independent correspondent Jennifer Baker.

While the cause of outage has not been confirmed, the Daily Mirror reported that Belgian security forces were boosting their manpower at main sites around Brussels as authorities asses the situation.

The Belgian city is the site of several key EU bodies, including the European Commission and European Council.

The northern part of Brussels was said to have been affected the worst by the blackout, which was first reported at around 10:45 p.m. local time, according to the Daily Mail.

An earlier power outage reportedly struck a portion of city several hours earlier, but was resolved by 8:30pm, the outlet reports. </s> Brussels has been plunged into darkness 'in all directions' tonight following a 'massive power cut'.

It is believed the northern part of the EU capital has been affected the worst with the cause still to be identified.

The power outage is understood to have happened at around 10.45pm local time and it is currently unknown how many people are without power.

An early power cut is understood to have hit a smaller part of the city earlier in the evening but was 'resolved by 8.30pm'.

Lights are still on in some EU buildings, including the European Council and European Commission headquarters.

Gas and electricity services in Brussels are provided by power firm Sibelga. </s> A power cut plunged several neighbourhoods of Brussels into darkness overnight after an unknown problem hit the grid, the Belgian capital's electricity distributor said Friday."We are getting electricity again from (grid operator) Elia. We are gradually starting to restore the affected areas," Sibelga tweeted shortly after midnight.The power outage hit the neighbourhoods of Schaerbeek, Evere and Saint-Josse, in the northwest of the city, at 10.40 pm (2140 GMT), according to a Sibelga spokesman quoted by the Belga news agency.Five of the 48 high-voltage stations in Brussels were no longer powered by Elia, according to the spokesman.Radio programmes of the French-language public channel RTBF, headquartered in Schaerbeek, were affected by the blackout.Various RTBF stations broadcast continuous music instead of their usual programmes.Worried residents contacted police, Belga said, but on social networks others took it in their stride, delighted to spend a romantic candlelit evening, with some even predicting a baby boom in nine months' time.Source: Agence France-Presse </s> Brussels has been plunged into darkness after a massive power cut.

The loss of electricity across the Belgian capital has reportedly sparked terror attack fears, although the cause of the outage has not been confirmed.

Belgium and other European countries are on high alert following several devastating terror attacks over the past 12 months.

Brussels is home to a number of key EU bodies, including the European Commission and European Council, both of which are situated in the centre of the city.

Belgian security personnel ares reinforcing main sites across Brussels as the blackout causes transport chaos.

We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.

For the latest news and breaking news visit Mirror.co.uk/news.

Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter @DailyMirror - the official Daily Mirror & Mirror Online Twitter account - real news in real time.

We're also on Facebook/dailymirror - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Mirror Online. </s> Security fears swept across the EU capital as residents reporting hearing sirens across the city. Repair teams are now working quickly to restore power to the Belgian capital after a power network operator confirmed there is a fault in the grid.

Elia, a Belgian high-voltage transmission system operator, tweeted: “The blackout in Brussels is not a terrorist attack but a technical error in one of the high-voltage substations.” The number of people without power is unknown but the suburbs of Evere, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Schaerbeek have all been affected. Sibelga, a gas and electricity service operator in the city, is keeping people updated via Twitter and said power is slowly being restored.

The main power cut is believed to have happened at around 9.45pm GMT (10.45pm local time), while there was also a smaller outage at earlier in the evening which was resolved by around 7.30pm GMT (8.30pm local time). Both the European Commission and the European Council headquarters still have power, according to reports.

Dozens of people in the city took to social media to post extraordinary pictures of the blackout. Citizens were urged to stay calm as repair teams worked to restore power.

The city has been on high terror alert after three coordinated suicide attacks killed 35 people and left more than 300 injured last year. The bombings were the deadliest terror attack in Belgium’s history and came just months after a similar attack in Paris. </s> Brussels has been plunged into darkness after a massive power cut.

The loss of electricity across the Belgian capital has reportedly sparked terror attack fears, although the cause of the outage has not been confirmed.

Belgium and other European countries are on high alert following several devastating terrorist incidents over the past 12 months.

Brussels is home to a number of key EU bodies, including the European Commission and European Council, both of which are situated in the centre of the city.

The sounds of police sirens can be heard coming from the centre of the city in footage posted online by people tonight.

Belgian security personnel ares reinforcing main sites across Brussels as the blackout causes transport chaos.

It has not been revealed when the power will be turned back on, but incredible images from across the city show just a handful of buildings with any lights still on - and they are presumably served by generators.

The Molonbeek area of the city was the centre of an intensive anti-terror operation last year as cops hunted for Salah Abdeslam in connection with the Paris bombings.

Abdeslam was Europol's most wanted man following the Paris attacks and became the target of one of the largest manhunts in modern European history.He was finally seized in a police raid in the Molenbeek area of Brussels after four months on the run.

The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the November 2015 Paris attacks which were the deadliest on France since World War II.

Gunmen killed 89 people at an Eagles of Death Metal concert at the Bataclan theatre, three suicide bombers struck outside the Stade de France during a football match, and there were more mass shootings and a suicide bombing at bars and restaurants.

Last month a prime suspect once known as the ‘Man in the Hat’ who was allegedly involved in terror attacks on Paris and Brussels was formally charged with a range of terrorist offences.

Mohamed Abrini, 32, faces multiple life sentences after a brief appearance in front of a judge in the French capital.

Under conditions of utmost security, he arrived in Paris from Brussels in an armed convoy and was taken in a specified court that deals with terrorist defendants in the centre of the city.

A prosecuting source said: "As part of the investigation following the November 13 2015 attacks in Paris, Mohamed Abrini was handed over to the French judicial authorities for a period of one day."

Abrini, a Belgian passport holder, was caught in Brussels in April last year after also being linked with the March 22 attacks on the Belgian capital.

Investigators said that the same Islamic State gang hit both cities, causing a total of 162 deaths using AK-47s and explosives.

Abrini was dubbed the ‘Man in the hat’ after being caught on CCTV at Brussels aiport, where 16 died in an attack by suicide bombers. He fled from the airport, allegedly without detonating a suitcase bomb he was carrying, along with his accomplices Najim Laachraoui and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, who both died.

Abrini grew up in the Molenbeek district of Brussels with Salah Abdeslam. Abdeslam also dumped his suicide device, and ran away before being arrested in Brussels later on.

He is currently in a high security prison near Paris, awaiting trial. Abrini, of Moroccan origin, was also caught on camera at a petrol station north of Paris two days before the November 13 attacks with prime suspect Abdeslam.

Belgian authorities have charged Abrini with ‘participation in the activities of a terrorist group and terrorist murders’ following the atrocity in Paris.

Investigators said he briefly visited Syria last year and his younger brother Suleiman, 20, died there. A State of Emergency was imposed in France following both attacks, and the country remains on the highest state of alert. </s> An explosion has destroyed half of a sports centre in Belgium, with reports at least one person has died and four have been injured, two seriously.

The blast happened shortly after midnight at a complex known as Le Chalon in the southern municipality of Chimay, on the border with France.

Chimay police chief Pierre Maton said early on Friday that the blast was most likely “a gas explosion,” but an investigation into the cause was ongoing. There was no indication of it being a militant attack, officials said.

It is thought there was a total of five people in the building.

Several dozen police and firefighters attended the scene and the area had been cordoned off, but the damage was not as serious as initially feared. Windows were blown out of the two-story building, and one corner of the structure was badly damaged but there was no major collapse.

The town has a population of 10,000 and lies 120km (75 miles) south of Brussels.

A municipal stage of emergency has been declared and police have set up a security perimeter at the scene of the disaster, according to local media reports.

Belgium and France, along with the rest of Europe, have been on high alert after Islamic State attacks in Paris and Brussels over the past year. </s> A massive failure in the electrical interconnection system left Argentina and Uruguay without power, according to reports by local media.

Infobae, an Argentinian website, reported on Sunday that the country has been in the dark for more than an hour, and all trains were suspended.

Local media said the blackout started at around 07:00 local time (12:00 GMT).

Electricitycompany Edesur Argentina said in a tweet: "A massive failure in the electrical interconnection system left Argentina and Uruguay without power."

"Never has anything like this happened before," Alejandra Martinez, a spoksperson for the company told Infobae.

Social media reports on the blackout were widespread.

"Huge blackout in Argentina: the City, the Province of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe were left in the dark," a news agency posted on Twitter.

"What's happening with this blackout," a user on Twitter asked the government.
A power outage plunges the Belgian capital of Brussels into darkness.