Raccoon knocks out power in Toronto, trapping people in elevators

An inquisitive raccoon fiddled with electricity equipment in Toronto and cut power for thousands in the downtown core late on Thursday, knocking out traffic lights in Canada's largest city and trapping some people in elevators. Some traffic lights were also turned off in downtown Toronto, which is also home to the busy Union Station rail transport hub, according to a Reuters witness.

An inquisitive raccoon fiddled with electricity equipment in Toronto and cut power for thousands in the downtown core late on Thursday, knocking out traffic lights in Canada's largest city and trapping some people in elevators. Crews investigating the outage determined that the nocturnal mammal made contact with equipment at a downtown Toronto station, Utility Hydro One said on social media.

Hydro One did not say if the raccoon survived. The power outage hit areas about 2 km (1.24 miles) from the CN Tower landmark and left around 7,000 people in the dark for more than two hours.

The city's fire department said it had to respond to "a higher number of elevator rescues" due to power cuts. Some traffic lights were also turned off in downtown Toronto, which is also home to the busy Union Station rail transport hub, according to a Reuters witness.