Massive Malaysia blackout forces workers to descend 106-storey tower on foot

A widespread power failure across Malaysia left thousands without electricity on Wednesday afternoon, forcing office workers in one of the country’s tallest skyscrapers to climb down hundreds of flights of stairs.

Videos shared online showed employees evacuating The Exchange 106 – Malaysia’s fourth-tallest building – after the lights went out on 15 October. Some workers used torches to navigate the stairwells of the 445m-high tower, located in Kuala Lumpur’s Tun Razak Exchange financial district.

The footage, set to dramatic music, drew amused reactions online, with several users joking it had turned into an impromptu workout time.

“Suddenly weight loss time and then on the bottom floor.... The lights are on,” commented a person.

“I walked to the 5th floor and suddenly there was electricity..,” wrote a user.

“Still want to be an advanced country?” joked another user.

The blackout disrupted power in parts of the Klang Valley, which includes the capital Kuala Lumpur and surrounding cities, as well as Johor Bahru in southern Malaysia. The national utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) said the outage was triggered by a lightning strike at the Edra Power Plant in the coastal state of Melaka.

“We appreciate your patience and regret any inconvenience caused,” TNB said in a statement on Facebook, adding that technical teams were deployed to restore electricity in stages. The company later confirmed that full power was reinstated by 5.54pm.

According to Malaysian media, key commercial hubs such as Mid Valley Megamall, Pavilion Damansara Heights, and the TRX complex were also plunged into darkness. Traffic in parts of Kuala Lumpur slowed as signals stopped working, while reports of power loss extended to other regions including Kluang, Tampin, Ipoh, Kuantan, and Sendayan.

The Exchange 106, which has 106 floors, is ranked 23rd among the world’s tallest buildings by the US-based Council on Vertical Urbanism. The building’s developers describe it as “a beacon visible for miles around, a symbol of a nation on the rise.”