QUETTA: Saboteurs on Saturday used heavy machinery to topple 13 power pylons in Mastung district, cutting electricity to a vast area and stealing valuable components from the downed towers, a spokesman for Quetta Electric Company (Qesco) said.

The attack on the 132kV transmission line suspended the power supply to the lsplanji Grid Station.

`In a major act of sabotage reported yesterday in the Dasht area, thieves used heavy machinery to topple 13 towers of the Dasht-Isplani 132kV transmission line,` the spokesman said. `The criminals stole conductors, spans, insulators, sky wires and brace strips from the fallen tower, causing a complete power outage at the lsplanji Grid.