In Sri Lanka, a monkey had reportedly clashed with the Panadura grid substation in Colombo causing power outage affecting multiple regions, this led to blackouts lasting over five hours, affecting hospitals and water supplies.

“A monkey has come in contact with our grid transformer, causing an imbalance in the system,” Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody told reporters.

The Ministry of Power and Energy described the situation as an “emergency at the Panadura substation”.

Though power is gradually being restored across the island nation of 22 million people, the blackout started on Sunday, forcing many to rely on generators.

However, on social media, people made fun of the incidence while criticizing the authorities

“Only in Sri Lanka can a group of monkeys fighting inside a power station cause an islandwide power outage,” wrote Jamila Husain, editor-in-chief of local newspaper Daily Mirror.

@BearSeasonNow made a mockery of the president with the situation stating: “Monkey with more power than president”

“A rogue monkey knocked out Sri Lanka’s entire power grid after triggering a total failure at a substation in Colombo,” X user Mario Nawfal wrote.

“One monkey = total chaos. Time to rethink infrastructure?” he added.

Sri Lanka experienced widespread blackouts during its economic crisis in 2022.