PRAGUE, July 4, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Prague metro ground to a temporary standstill and firefighters had to rescue people from lifts on Friday, when a blackout caused by a fallen powerline affected swathes of the Czech Republic.

The outage affected "a greater part of the Czech Republic" for several hours, according to grid operator CEPS.

CEPS said on X the blackout was due to a fallen powerline, affecting eight of the country's 44 power distribution points.

All three lines on the capital's underground train network were halted for about half an hour, Prague transport company DP said on its website.

Czech media said public transport was also disrupted in several other regions, factories and refineries suspended operations, shops closed and hospitals resorted to running on power generators.

Firefighters said they had to rescue several people stranded in lifts.

"Most of Prague has been affected, primarily on the right bank" of the Vltava river, Karel Hanzelka, a spokesman for the Prague power distributor PRE, told AFP.

An extensive blackout hit Spain and Portugal in April, when a lack of voltage control capacity contributed to a chain reaction that brought down the network.