Zapped rat causes Stockholm power outage

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.

"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.

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