Madar (Nouakchott) - A fire broke out on Monday night, October 26, 2026, at an electricity distribution substation of the Mauritanian Electricity Company (SOMELEC) in Tiarett, Nouakchott-Ouest, according to a video shared on social media showing flames and thick smoke rising from the facility.
SOMELEC's new director general, Thiam Tidjani, went to the scene himself late at night; another video shows him among residents with a phone to his ear. According to witnesses, he called officials of his company and had to call back several times people who did not answer.
The cause of the fire, the extent of the damage and which neighbourhoods lost power were not known, and Madar had not seen a statement from the company at the time of publication.
The incident comes two weeks after Thiam Tidjani was appointed head of SOMELEC on October 14, following the report on fires at two Nouakchott substations in August, and as several districts of the capital face repeated power cuts.
