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San José (AFP)

A huge power outage hit Central America on Saturday, causing blackouts from Panama to Costa Rica to Nicaragua, as authorities across the region scrambled to restore electrical service.

Officials at the Costa Rican Institute for Electricity said power was disrupted throughout the entire country.

"ICE is trying to diagnose the problem," said Communications Minister Mauricio Herrera, referring to the office by its Spanish acronym. He said that workers succeeded in restoring power to some areas of Costa Rica.

ICE said that the origins of the blackout were outside of the country and urged the public to remain indoors while they try to fix the problem.

In Panama, the ETESA government power authority said via Twitter that the nation had experienced just a "partial blackout" and that workers were trying to restore power to the affected areas.

The blackout in Panama occurred about 15 minutes into a major speech delivered by President Juan Carlos Varela to the country's legislature.

© 2017 AFP