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Cairns races back on after electrical explosions

Ben Dorries - Saturday September 2

Cairns races will resume on Saturday afternoon after an earlier electrical explosion caused a power blackout and forced the evacuation of many patrons.

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The races in Cairns have struck trouble with an electrical explosion

A transformer box on a power pole caught on fire near the entrance to Cannon Park and the contestants in the nearby fashions on the field were evacuated just after 1pm on Saturday.

Fire officers raced to the scene and started work on extinguishing the blaze, with the course without power while the damage was assessed.

There was a delay of more than 90 minutes but the meeting is resuming with 30-minute gaps between races which are all expected to be run.

Power was restored thanks to emergency generators.

The drama has occurred during the popular Cairns Amateurs Carnival, with the Cairns Amateurs Cup scheduled to be run at 5.13pm on Saturday.

There are about 12,000 people on course, including Racing Queensland CEO Eliot Forbes.

Sparks flew at the Cairns amateur races on Saturday.
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