A short circuit at an electricity substation in Alcudía at 12.06pm this morning has left around 900,000 users without power on Mallorca and Menorca.

A spokesman for the GESA-Endesa utility firm responsable estimates that it will take two or three hours to fix the problem.

Meanwhile, traffic in Palma city centre has practically ground to a halt, standard telephone lines are down and there is only partial mobile phone coverage.

Palma airport, though, has not been affected and continues to operate normally.

The same spokesman explained that top priority is being given to restoring power to the islands' hospitals and health centres.