NEW DELHI (AP) -- India's energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving 620 million people without government-supplied electricity for several hours in, by far, the world's biggest blackout.
Hundreds of trains stalled across the country and traffic lights went out, causing widespread traffic jams in New Delhi. Electric crematoria stopped operating, some with bodies half burnt, power officials said. Emergency workers rushed generators to coal mines to rescue miners trapped underground.
The massive failure - a day after a similar, but smaller power failure - has raised serious concerns about India's outdated infrastructure and the government's inability to meet its huge appetite for energy as the country aspires to become a regional economic superpower.
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Indian stranded passengers sit inside a stalled train as they wait for the services to resume after a power outage in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Kevin Frayer
A stranded Indian train passenger rests inside a railway coach as he waits for the train service to resume following a power outage in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Bikas Das
Stranded passengers wait for their power to get restore, at New Delhi railway station, in New Delhi, India, Monday, July 30, 2012. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
A stranded newly wed woman passenger waits for her train at New Delhi railway station, in New Delhi, India, Monday, July 30, 2012. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
Indian stranded passengers wait for the train services to resume at a railway station following a power outage in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
Indian stranded passengers wait on a platform and some of them on rail tracks for the train services to resume following a power outage at Sealdah station in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Bikas Das
A young Indian boy watches from a window of a stalled train as he waits for the train to resume its services following a power outage at a railway station in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Kevin Frayer
A young Indian girl looks out from a stalled train window as passengers are stranded following a power outage in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
Indian stranded passengers wait inside a stalled local train following a power outage in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Bikas Das
Stranded passengers, seen through the glass window, wait for the train services to resume following a power outage at a railway station in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
Passengers sit in a train and wait for power to get restored at a railway station in New Delhi, India, Monday, July 30, 2012. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
Stranded commuters wait for their trains to arrive at a train station in New Delhi, India, Monday, July 30, 2012. AP / Altaf Qadri
Indian laborers sleep on railway platforms at the New Delhi railway station following a power outage in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Mustafa Quraishi
Indian stranded passengers wait on a platform for the train services to resume following a power outage at Sealdah station in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Bikas Das
The New Delhi railway station is seen after train services were disrupted following a power outage in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
Streets are packed in heavy traffics following power outage and rains in the central part of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
A traffic jam following power outage and rains at the Delhi-Gurgaon road on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP /
Commuters stand on a busy road outside a Metro station after Delhi Metro rail services were disrupted following power outage in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
A traffic jam following power outage and rains in the central part of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
Commuters crowd a busy road outside a Metro station after Delhi Metro rail services were disrupted following power outage in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
A traffic jam following power outage and rains in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Altaf Qadri
Indian people walk past an electric generator at a market in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Tsering Topgyal
An Indian barber holding a candle, has a haircut for a customer at his shop in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Bikas Das
Indian commuters wait for a bus on a street illuminated with street vendor's kiosks following a power outage in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Bikas Das
A building is seen dark following a power outage in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. AP / Bikas Das
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