Sri Lanka extended power cuts for a third day on Thursday as it scrambled to restore its national grid to full capacity after a monkey triggered a widespread blackout over the weekend that disrupted supply to the island's 22 million people.

Officials in Sri Lanka said a monkey in the wrong place at the wrong time was to blame for a power blackout that affected the entire nation.

Sri Lanka experienced extended power cuts due to a nationwide blackout caused by a monkey that disrupted a transformer at a Colombo suburb station. The incident resulted in limited power supply, affecting the national grid and causing cuts during peak hours.

A monkey in Sri Lanka caused power outage in Sri Lanka, forcing a power outage in the island nation. The power minister confirmed the news, adding the power was restored at key installations after an hour of disruption.

Over the weekend, residents of Sri Lanka found themselves without power during a heat wave, but it wasn’t because of the oppressive temperatures. The energy minister for the island nation reported that the power outage was initially caused by a monkey when it came into contact with a grid transformer.

Sri Lanka has been hit by a nationwide power cut, with buildings including hospitals having to rely on generators to supply electricity. The outage, which began around 11:30 local time (06:00 GMT), is yet to be fully fixed.

According to The Guardian, the nation’s Energy Minister believes the entire country lost power after a monkey came into contact with a grid transformer. Engineers worked quickly to restore power to critical facilities like hospitals, but many households remained without electricity overnight.

The outage began around 11:30 a.m. local time and persisted for over three hours, with authorities working to restore full service, according to the reports.

The island nation, where temperatures are above 30°C in most places, suffered a blackout from 11:30 am (local time) onwards. The impact on places like hospitals and schools was not immediately known

COLOMBO: An intruding monkey in Sri Lanka's electrical grid sub-station caused a general nationwide blackout on Sunday, government officials said.The power outage is yet to be fully restored

Sri Lanka witnessed a nationwide power outage on February 9. It was triggered by a monkey. The incident which occurred at an electrical grid substation in a southern suburb of Colombo resulted in an island-wide blackout.