Greece\'s most popular travel destination hit by power blackout

Santorini is renowned for its picturesque villages Greek island of Santorini, one of the country\'s premier tourist destinations, was hit with a sweeping power shortage on Tuesday after a fire at the island\'s main electricity plant, officials said. With thousands of travellers on the island at the peak of the tourist season, the local mayor called on locals to help save power and \"put guests first\".
\"We must put first the priority on our visitors and satisfy their needs,\" Mayor Anastassios-Nikolaos Zorzos said in a statement.
He added that a navy transport and ferry had been loaded with electricity generators and repair equipment but the supplies were not expected to reach the island until early on Wednesday.
Until then, the mayor noted, the priority was on feeding power to the island\'s health facilities while technicians would rotate remaining power between the island\'s regions to prevent a general blackout.
\"We call on citizens to avoid wasting power, such as through the use of air conditioning,\" the Santorini town hall said.
The Public Power Corporation, Greece\'s main power provider, said that a fire had broken out at the power plant of the island capital of Fira, knocking out one of the generators.
Reports said that a second generator had ceased operating as well.
The incident did not affect the island\'s airport.
Santorini, renowned for its beautiful sunsets and picturesque villages perched on rocky outcrops, is one of Greece\'s most popular travel destinations, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.
Source: AFP