Millions without power as Cuba hit by latest major blackout

Millions in Cuba were left without power on Friday as the country was plunged into yet another major blackout.

The country's entire electricity grid suffered "total disconnection" that triggered a nationwide outage, Cuba's energy ministry said.

Power was restored to some priority areas by late evening, including those near hospitals and water pumping stations in the capital Havana, grid operator UNE said.

It is at least the sixth partial or total blackout to hit Cuba this year, where ageing electricity infrastructure and chronic fuel shortages have been placed under further strain by a US blockade on oil shipments to the communist-run nation.

UNE said the outage started just before 14:00 local time on Friday (18:00 GMT) due to a transmission fault coupled with poor weather conditions in central Cuba.

Protocols to begin the "gradual restoration" of power were activated, the operator's national load dispatch director Felix Estrada said, with the process ongoing on Saturday.

Cuba relies heavily on fuel imports, meaning tight US sanctions and an oil blockade since the start of the year have exacerbated existing shortages.

Food and medicine have also become more scarce, with hospitals struggling to function normally and schools and government offices having to close.