Many parts of Venezuela remained without power and communications overnight after several days of the country's worst blackouts, which forced some hospitals to treat patients without electricity and compounded an economic and political crisis.
Power returned to some areas as engineers sought to restore service, but frustration mounted among people already struggling with hyperinflation as well as shortages of food and medicine.
Some hospitals have cared for their most critically ill patients with the help of generators, but many have had to operate without power since the blackouts started Thursday afternoon (Friday NZT), endangering vulnerable patients who rely on oxygen concentrators, dialysis machines and other equipment.
The Venezuelan government has not commented on the impact of blackouts on the sick, but Julio Castro, a doctor who supports opposition leader Juan Guaido, said a hospital in the city of Maturin reported 15 deaths linked to outages.
Castro, who joined Guaido on Sunday at a news conference addressing the energy crisis, noted that Venezuela annually designates March 10 as a day to honor the medical profession.
"We have nothing to celebrate," Castro said.
Guaido, the leader of the National Assembly, said it was difficult to assess the impact of power cuts on the sick because of an alleged government cover-up.
He declared himself interim president in late January, saying Maduro is an illegitimate leader and should resign so elections can be held.
Maduro has described Guaido as a "clown and puppet" in a US-backed plot to overthrow his government.
The government and opposition accuse each other of being responsible for the infrastructure breakdown.
Maduro tweeted that "multiple cyberattacks" caused the blackouts and disrupted efforts to fix the national grid. He says he hopes power can be restored in coming hours.
Guaido and his ally, the United States, say Maduro's allegations that they sabotaged the power system are absurd. T
hey say government corruption and mismanagement caused the decay of Venezuela's infrastructure over many years, a situation that has contributed to the departure of more than three million Venezuelans from their country in the past few years.
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