MADRID, Oct 3: Millions of people living in Europe and Africa watched on Monday as the moon passed across the face of the sun, causing an annular eclipse in which only a fiery solar rim can be seen.

The corridor in which this dramatic event could be seen was a narrow one, snaking from the North Atlantic, where it started at 0841 GMT (0141 PST), across the Iberian peninsula and then to northern and eastern Africa before petering out in the Indian Ocean at 1222 GMT (0522pm PST).

Countries that lie on this path included Portugal and Spain as well as Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, northern Chad, central Sudan, southwestern Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

The inhabitants of Madrid were among the first to see the spectacle during which the sun was obscured for four minutes, the Spanish capital lying in the centre of the strip from which the phenomenon could be seen in its fullest form.

Weather conditions were perfect with clear skies and local people crowded east-facing pavements and balconies to watch the eclipse.

Applause broke out as the moon moved across the sun, eventually covering 95 per cent of it. The sky took on a grayish hue and the temperature fell but after a few minutes conditions were back to normal.

But the eclipse was not like that of 1999 when a total eclipse gave the impression that night was falling.

Some 3,000 people went to the city’s planetarium where free dark glasses were handed out.

In the far northwestern province of Galicia thousands of spectators gathered to watch an event that last occurred in 1764 and will not happen again until 2026.

Northern Portugal was the first to see the eclipse and hotel rooms in the city of Braganca and the surrounding area were booked up. Some spectators ignored warnings not to watch with the naked eye.—AFP