Manhattan was plunged into darkness on Saturday night as a transformer fire shut off power to tens of thousands of people in the heart of the city’s tourist district.

Subway passengers were stranded inside sweltering train cars and lifts, top Broadway shows were cancelled, and pedestrians stepped in to direct vehicles after traffic lights shut down.

The New York City Fire Department said a transformer fire triggered the blackout, which hit a 30-block stretch from Times Square to about 72nd Street and Broadway, to the west of Central Park.

One of the worst-hit areas was the Theatre District - while many of nearby Times Square’s iconic electronic billboards were blacked out.

Eerie photographs circulated showing just a couple of skyscrapers glowing amid a sea of darkness - likely reliant on their own backup power generators.

2018: New York City sky turns neon blue after explosion at power plant Show all 8 1 /8 2018: New York City sky turns neon blue after explosion at power plant 2018: New York City sky turns neon blue after explosion at power plant Bright blue light is seen after a transformer explosion on Thursday at an electric power station in the New York City borough of Queens Twitter/Eat_Work_Run/Reuters 2018: New York City sky turns neon blue after explosion at power plant The sky flashed an eerie blue over New York City and social media users feared the worst. In the end, the explanation turned out to be somewhat more mundane: a problem at a local power plant Alexander C Kane/Twitter/AFP/Getty 2018: New York City sky turns neon blue after explosion at power plant "The lights you have seen throughout the city appear to have been from a transformer explosion at a Con Ed facility in Queens. The fire is under control, will update as more info becomes available," the New York Police Department tweeted AFP/Getty Images 2018: New York City sky turns neon blue after explosion at power plant Viewed from the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the night sky is alight as a Con Edison facility in the Queens borough of New York experiences a transformer explosion AP 2018: New York City sky turns neon blue after explosion at power plant The explosion seen from Manhattan AP 2018: New York City sky turns neon blue after explosion at power plant In this image taken from video, the night sky is illuminated in a bright, blue color after an explosion in the Queens borough of New York, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018. New York police say a transformer exploded at a Con Edison facility in Queens. The explosion caused a bright, blue light that illuminated the New York skyline and caused a stir on social media. (AP Photo/Sophie Rosenbaum) Sophie Rosenbaum AP 2018: New York City sky turns neon blue after explosion at power plant Bright blue light is seen after a transformer explosion on Thursday at an electric power station in the New York City borough of Queens, U.S., in this picture obtained from social media on December 28, 2018. MANDATORY CREDIT FRANK NEW/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. SOCIAL MEDIA Reuters 2018: New York City sky turns neon blue after explosion at power plant Bright light is seen after a transformer explosion on Thursday at an electric power station in the New York City borough of Queens, U.S., in this picture obtained from social media on December 28, 2018. MANDATORY CREDIT AMANDA OLIVEIRA LIMA/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. SOCIAL MEDIA Reuters

Most Broadway shows were cancelled, and several cast members from the show Hadestown put on an impromptu performance in the street outside the theatre for disappointed audience members.

Lucy Gray, The Independent’s assistant audience editor, was in Midtown when the power went out.

“It was absolute chaos. All the Broadway shows were being cancelled and the streets were absolutely packed.

The scene close to Broadway following the cancellation of shows

“Traffic lights stopped working and policy were have to help emergency services get through.

“All the shops and restaurants were in darkness and it felt like an apocalypse movie.”

Emily Totero, 30, planned to bring out-of-town guests to see "Moulin Rouge." But once they got to the theatre district, they saw the power go out.

"You could see all the theatre lights across the street, all the marquees went out. That's what we noticed first," she said.

A tweet posted at 8pm by city power provider Con Edison said: "We are working to restore power to 42,000 customers primarily in the Westside of Manhattan. We will provide updates as we receive them. Thank you." By around 11pm, five of six affected electricity networks were back up and running.

A map shared online by Con Edison shows the areas affected

Ginger Tidwell, a dance teacher and Upper West Side resident, was about to order at the West Side diner on Broadway and West 69th Street just before 7pm.

"The lights started flickering, and then were out," she said. "We got up and left, walking up Broadway with all the traffic lights out and businesses dark."

Summer power outages in New York can be caused by the strain of air conditioning units on the grid during sweltering summer heat. It was close to 30C at 10pm on Saturday evening - very warm, but not as hot as it can get at this time of year.