Balkan countries suffer blackouts amid major heatwave

The Balkans suffered major blackouts on Friday after temperatures approached 40 degrees Celsius iin the region's first heatwave of the year..

Authorities in parts of Albania, Bosnia,and Croatia reported outages, while almost all of Montenegro was without power.

"There has been a sudden increase in consumption due to high temperatures," said Montenegro's Energy Minister Sasa Mujovic.

Montenegro is in the midst of a major heatwaveImage: Stevo Vasiljevic/REUTERS

Croatia's national electricity company HEP said blackouts were caused by "an international disturbance that affected several countries."

"HEP has put all its production capacities into full operation... to ensure the supply of electricity in Croatia as soon as possible," it said.

More to follow...

zc/lo (AFP, AP)