A massive blackout left more than 44 million people without electricity in Argentina and Uruguay yesterday after an unexplained failure in the neighboring countries’ interconnected power grid. Authorities were working frantically to restore power but only about a half a million in Argentina had electricity back.

Argentina’s power grid is generally known for being in a state of disrepair, with substations and cables that were insufficiently upgraded. Uruguayan officials did not provide the number of clients with power back, but a growing list of regions with service indicated that restoration was progressing faster there.

Several Argentine provinces had elections for governor yesterday, which proceeded with voters using their phone screens and built-in flashlights to illuminate their ballots.