The occupants of a ute that crashed into a power pole, leaving thousands without power on Hobart’s east bank, have been accused of fleeing the scene before police arrived.

More than 1,000 properties in Howrah, Rokeby and Tranmere were affected by the outage, which was caused by a damaged utility pole on Droughty Point Road.

Police say “no one” was found with the vehicle when they arrived at the scene shortly after 10pm on Monday.

“Tasmania Police are investigating the circumstances of an accident … in which a male and female occupants of the vehicle fled the scene before emergency services arrived,” a spokesman said.

“Police are following a specific line of inquiry and inquiries are ongoing.”

“Anyone with information in relation to the incident is asked to contact Tasmania Police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers.”

Electricity was restored to most houses in the area until late at night.