Spain and Portugal are the most impacted by the power cut, with ‘large areas’ currently experiencing outages. That includes the cities of Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, Porto, Valencia, Seville and Bilbao . Andorra and parts of France were also briefly affected, however French grid operator RTE has said the network is now operating like normal.

A blackout has brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill, affecting millions of people. The Spanish power distributor calls it “exceptional and extraordinary."

The massive power cut that stranded Mr Hughes triggered chaos across Spain and Portugal, and also impacted Andorra and parts of France, from about midday local time (10:00 GMT). Traffic lights shut off. Metros closed. Businesses shuttered and people joined queues to get cash as card payments did not work.