# Crow caused 5-hr power outage in parts of Salcete, Kushavati district on 4 November 2026-11-04T22:26:16+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets A crow flew into a high-tension line at the Xeldem substation on 4 November caused a five-hour power outage affected several parts of Salcete and entire Kushavati district. The bird came into contact with a busbar, triggered a flashover that tripping three transformers, disrupting power to Margao, Fatorda, parts of Sanguem and Quepem. Power officials initially could not find the cause of the simultaneous tripping. They later examined CCTV footage from the substation and found the crow moments before the outage. Superintending engineer Rajiv Samant confirmed the crow triggered the tripping of all three transformers. Officials could not provide an alternate supply from Verna subst because a 33kV cable near a petrol pump had been damaged by a national highway contractor. The cable was part of the standby network and not in service, so officials could not ascertain when the damage occurred. Samant said the damaged cable will be repaired on 5 November. Power to Sanguem and Quepem was restored earlier in the day, supply to Margao, Fatorda and other areas was restored after noon. Update, 5 November 2026: A report from Urban Acres confirms the same facts of the event and the same statement by Rajiv Samant. It adds a more descriptive sentence about the standby cable's condition but no new fact. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both outlets report the same facts identically, with the same official quote and the same details from Rajiv Samant. The Urban Acres version, however, is simply a fuller rewrite of the same information, it adds no new fact, just a more descriptive final paragraph about the damaged standby cable's condition. The coverage is uniform straight reporting from both outlets. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Uniform neutral report - urbanacres.in (neutral report) Uniform neutral report This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: CCTV, Kushavati, power department, Rajiv Samant, Salcete Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/cctv-shows-crow-caused-5-hour-blackout-in-salcete-kushavati/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/cctv-shows-crow-caused-5-hour-blackout-in-salcete-kushavati/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/