Emergency number 112 down across Netherlands as KPN outage takes hold

By Zack Newmark on June 24, 2019 - 16:45
Netherlands police uniform
A police officer walking the beat in Amsterdam. 5 May 2015Photo: Joeppoulssen / DepositPhotos

All phone numbers listed are connected to the +31 country code:

Update, 5:15 p.m., 24 June 2019: For immediate emergency attention call 088-6628240. Those trying to reach the police department general line can call 088-9659630, police said on social media channels.

Update, 5:45 p.m., 24 June 2019: Anyone with trouble on Dutch motorways should call 0800-8002, Rijkswaterstaat announced.

Update, 6:30 p.m., 24 June 2019: Police may also be reached by Whatsapp at 06-10000011.

Update, 7:55 p.m., 24 June 2019: The disruption to 112 was largely over, KPN reportedly said.

A network outage at telecommunications provider KPN has taken the primary emergency services number 1-1-2 out of service. More police officers were being dispatched onto the public streets and neighborhoods to deal with the communications issue, the police department said.

The KPN network fell flat at about 3:45 p.m. on Monday while a national warning was in effect for excessive heat across the Netherlands. "A solution is being worked on," the Dutch police said on its official Twitter account. "We will bring more information as soon as possible."

People were told to call 088-6628240 instead of 112, and 088-9659630 instead of the the general police number 0900-8844. The primary phone numbers were still down just before 5:15 p.m. when the new temporary numbers were announced. Multiple gas and electricity providers also established temporary numbers, as anyone who notices a smell of natural gas should still contact the appropriate provider immediately.

"Expected end time is currently around 20:00," a KPN customer service representative said to a client on Twitter.

Earlier, the national unit of the police department advised people to find a cop, go to a police station or fire house, or even visit some public buildings to request assistance using the C2000 trunked radio system. People with immediate medical issues were being told to visit a hospital or a doctor. Other emergency services providers requested that people use social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to contact them with any emergencies. 

To help people in a crisis, the regional safety office around Utrecht set up the temporary mobile numbers, 06-12221436 and 06-12221409 to quickly reach them in a crisis.

An NL-Alert was also sent to people in-and-around Amsterdam to announce the temporary emergency number 020-6212121. People in Amsterdam, Diemen, Amstelveen, Aalsmeer, Ouder-Amstel, and Uithoorn were told to call that number if they knew of an urgent situation.

In response to a customer on Twitter, one KPN customer service representative advised that the outage could take several hours to fix. KPN said the cause of the disruption was not known. It was affecting both landlines and mobile phones.

NL-Alert message sent to Amsterdam region
An NL-Alert was sent to people in the Amsterdam area during a KPN outage that knocked out emergency number 1-1-2 across the country. 24 June 2019.Photo: NL Times

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