IT glitch at Estonia's Emergency Response Centre delays call answering times
A technical IT failure hit Estonia's Emergency Response Centre on Wednesday, extending wait times for emergency calls. Residents are urged to stay on the line rather than hang up.
On Wednesday, September 16, a technical fault occurred in the IT system of Estonia's Emergency Response Centre, affecting the service's operations. As a result, response times for calls to emergency numbers may be longer than usual.
The Emergency Response Centre is asking anyone who needs urgent help and calls 112 or 1247 to remain on the line until an operator answers, rather than hanging up if there is no immediate response.
The issue stems from a technical malfunction that has disrupted the centre's systems. Officials reiterated that the 112 emergency number is intended for situations where someone's life, health or property is at immediate risk, so it should only be used for genuinely urgent cases.
Estonia's Information Technology and Development Centre of the Ministry of the Interior (SMIT) is working to restore the IT service. Further updates on the restoration of the system will be issued separately.
