Major power outage in Mainz – the university clinic is no longer accepting any more patients
Access to the Mainz University Hospital (archive photo)
Source: dpa-infocom GmbH
On Saturday there was a power outage in parts of the city of Mainz, which also affected the university medical center. As a result, it was decided not to admit any more patients. By afternoon, power was restored in most areas.
WDue to the widespread power outage in the city, the Mainz University Medical Center is currently not accepting any more patients. This was done as a precautionary measure, it was said on Saturday. “However, we assume that no transfers to other hospitals will be necessary.”
There was a widespread power outage in parts of Mainz on Saturday afternoon. The university medical center with several clinics was also affected by the power outage. “Critical areas such as operating rooms and intensive care units are protected by an emergency power supply,” said the facility.
The power supply has already been restored. “Various systems such as laboratory diagnostics and imaging are now being gradually checked and gradually restarted.”
Fire brigade arrives
The power outage in downtown Mainz and in parts of Mombach and Gonsenheim began shortly before 12 p.m. According to Michael Theurer, spokesman for the Mainz municipal utility, Hartenberg-Münchfeld, the upper town and Bretzenheim were also affected. It was initially unclear how many people were temporarily without power.
The fire control center in Mainz spoke in a warning about a large-scale power outage in downtown Mainz. “If possible, get information from the media, for example on local radio,” it said. “Reduce your power consumption to the bare minimum using rechargeable batteries.”
The fire department went out on several missions. “The emergency power generators that started up resulted in heavy smoke development in underground car parks, fire alarm systems being triggered and elevators getting stuck,” she said. “At times, the fire department had to process ten calls at the same time.” The fire department control center was heavily burdened with numerous emergency calls due to the power outage.
The police also spoke of a busy emergency call. In addition, the alarm systems in some buildings went off due to the power outage. “Due to the failure of numerous traffic lights in all affected parts of the city, road traffic was also significantly affected,” it said. Police praised road users for their “extremely responsible and considerate behavior.” From the police perspective, the power outage had no consequences.
Was a cable fault the cause?
By the afternoon, power was restored in most areas. About half an hour after the power outage, individual areas in the city were gradually switched back on, the Mainz network said. “It took a little longer in the old town.” Here, except for two small areas, the power supply was restored around 2:20 p.m.
Meanwhile, the search for the cause is ongoing. “We are now in the process of restoring the power supply and then we have to see what might have been the cause,” said Theurer. In a statement in the afternoon, the Mainzer Netze wrote: “The exact cause is currently unknown; the supply interruption was presumably caused by a cable fault.”