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Zapped rat causes Stockholm power outage

Central train station, hotels and shops affected

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updated 5:36 p.m. ET April 5, 2008

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - The electrocution of a fat rat in an electric station Saturday caused a three-hour power outage in Stockholm's central train station, halting elevators and escalators.

The early morning outage led to some delays in train traffic, said Jesper Ekenlund, a spokesman for power company Fortum. Nearby hotels and shops also were affected, he said.

"The rat had sneaked into a secondary substation and came into contact with some parts that caused it to short circuit," he said.

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"It must have been really big because there's a certain distance between the parts it touched."

Ekenlund said Fortum will now have to decontaminate the area where the rat met its fate.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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