A power failure hit the UN Secretariat building on Monday, the third day of the General Assembly's annual ministerial debate, forcing thousands of UN staff to evacuate the 38-story building.

The power outage, caused by a fire in a switching station on the 28th floor, did not affect the general debate which took place at an adjacent building.

The accident forced the UN security authority to order the evacuation of all non-essential UN staff. Hundreds of journalists from around the world were allowed to stay in the Secretariat building to cover the debate and other diplomatic activities.

UN Associate Spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that the accident also forced UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and foreign ministers from five Security Council permanent members to change their annual luncheon venue.

Haq said that normally there are nearly 4,000 UN staff working inside the Secretariat building.

The UN fire unit said New York Con Edison electricians will do the repair work overnight and power will be restored Tuesday morning.

Source: Xinhua