Cable theft halts emergency services
2013-01-04 10:31
Johannesburg - Cable theft has interrupted emergency services in Queenstown,
the Eastern Cape health department said on Friday.
"We have been flooded with complaints from the public, who could not
reach our emergency services. We would like to indicate that this was caused by
cable theft..." said spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.
He said last night Telkom cables were stolen in Queenstown, resulting in a total
shutdown of emergency services in the area.
In December 600m of cable was stolen, which also resulted in a communication
breakdown between the public and the emergency services.
"The public would call and the phone would ring with no one picking it
up."
Kupelo said the cables were used to connect the public when calling both the
10177 line and the 082112 line for emergency services.
The main affected units were Queenstown Emergency Services and Komani
Psychiatric Hospital.
He said for emergency services the public should use 083 378 0631 and
not the normal emergency numbers.
- SAPA
