© Kevin Scott/Presseye
There were fears of an explosion in Belfast after witnesses described a loud bang accompanied by a flash of light in the sky.
The events were later attributed to an incident at an electricity substation in the south west of the city, where a fault interrupted power to thousands of homes.
Comment: Officials: Loud bang, flashes of light in Belfast, Ireland not an explosion; investigation underway
Fire service crews were reportedly spotted at the site near Lenadoon shortly after the flash was seen on Friday night.
Witnesses described seeing the night sky light up from up to 15 miles away, with the flash accompanied by interference to radio stations.
NIE Networks said their early assessment indicated the fault was not suspicious.
A spokeswoman said: "Due to an equipment fault, several thousands of homes and businesses would have seen a dip in power for a number of seconds on Friday night.
"Network protection systems operated correctly to ensure that power supplies were not lost.
"Engineers from NIE Networks and Soni - the System Operator Northern Ireland - are investigating the cause."
Twitter lit up with speculation over incident.
Michael Doran wrote: "What was that big flash in Belfast? Hoping not a bomb."
Abi Louise tweeted: "The blinds rattled! Flashes have happened in Belfast before - at least this one has an explanation!!!"
Press Association reporter Catherine Wylie described how the sky was illuminated with "dramatic flashes" and her car radio lost signal.
Comment: Another witness reported: If anyone is wondering whether meteor fireballs can make the sky light up like this, the answer is yes, they can:
Meteor fireball sets the sky on fire over Recife, Brazil
There has been an increase in exploding meteor fireballs recently, although perhaps this incident was another type of 'electrical discharge event'.
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