Phone networks down across Spain with emergency services out of contact

ALL major phone networks have gone down across Spain, with emergency services out of contact just weeks after a national blackout caused chaos.

Problems with leading networks like Movistar, Orange, Vodafone, Digimobil, Telefonica and O2 have been reported, with some 112 lines forced to set up alternative numbers for locals.

The outages are affecting most of the country, including major tourist hotspots like Madrid, Malaga, Barcelona, Valencia, Murcia, Seville and Bilbao.

According to Downdetector which reports service issues to businesses, the chaos began at around 5am this morning.

The Department of Security said that emergency call centre operators noticed "problems with some of the calls coming [in]".

People affected by the outage that were desperate for emergency services reportedly had their "voices cut off" during calls, with operators having to ring them back.

The Valencian Community's 112 call centre first reported the outage, with the issue then affecting the Basque Country, Andalusia, Extremadura, and Aragon.

The exact cause of the devastating outage has not yet been specified, with work underway to restore normal service.

Emergency phone lines have so far been restored in Aragon, but problems continue across the country.

Issues that caused the outage are "unrelated to 112 in the Valencian Community," according to GVA.

A Telefónica spokesperson said: "We have done some network upgrade work which has affected some companies' fixed communication services (voice and internet).

"We are working on resolving this and some of the affected services have already been recovered, such as the 112 emergency services, which have now been re-established."

The Valencian Government's 112 Emergency Service has activated an alternative number for those affected.

Meanwhile the 112 service in Aragon took to social media to make people aware that "the 112 telephone line is inoperative," and activated three alternative numbers.

The horror incident isn't affecting all calls but appears to be occurring randomly.

It comes after 30,000 users across several towns and cities on La Palma island lost electricity earlier in May, according to the local council.

Towns including Los Llanos de Aridane, Breña Alta, Santa Cruz de La Palma, and Fuencaliente, were affected

The island was not affected by the massive blackout that hit most of Spain and Portugal on April 28.

Airports and hospitals shut down and trains screeched to a halt across the Iberian peninsula - with officials blaming a "rare atmospheric phenomenon" for the power cut.

Roads in Spain, Portugal and parts of France were left snarled up with traffic as lights and signals went blank - with emergency officers drafted in to tackle the bedlam.

Hundreds of passengers were also left trapped on trains.

In Madrid, emergency crews carried out 286 rescues to free people trapped in lifts, while passengers in Portugal were forced to flee darkened underground tunnels.

La Palma is the Canary Islands’ fifth largest island and is known for its fresh produce and exports nearly all of Spain’s bananas every year, alongside sweet mangoes, avocados and papayas.