BOSTON (WHDH) - A series of manhole explosions sent smoke into the air and knocked out power in an area within the South End Wednesday.
The incident happened on Harrison Avenue where Eversource officials said customers started reporting their lights were dimming and flickering just before 5 p.m. The power was knocked out completely around 5:45 p.m.
The owner of Convenience Plus, a store in the area, captured video with his cell phone of the situation that ultimately left his store and many others in the dark.
“This place is always open,” area resident Tom Downard later said near one local business. “It’s even open on Sunday, so I figured something was going on.”
Crews raced to fix the problem, which Eversource identified as an underground cable failure.
Nearby, the lights remained on at Boston Medical Center as a spokesperson told 7NEWS the hospital was at “normal operations.”
With their lights still out, though, individuals working in some surrounding businesses were left hoping their power kicks back in sooner rather than later Wednesday evening.
“We have so much stuff here, so if it doesn’t come within the next six hours, we will have a big loss,” said Convenience Plus Owner Sheikh Bahauddin.
Crews were still on scene at the site of the explosion as of around 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Eversource said only a few buildings were affected and crews were working to get power restored soon.
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