Vientiane Emergency Number Changed !

At Tuesday’s media briefing, the Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Mr Hiem Phommachanh, clarified the issue regarding the fire emergency number 1191 after callers complained that their calls were not picked up.

He said the emergency number 1191 was out of use as officials in charge have replaced the four-digit emergency number with the following six-digit numbers: 241162, 241163, 241164, and 212703. These numbers are used to inform of accidents and other emergency cases.

Officials previously informed members of the general public about the changes through the media but the information has not reached everyone, according to the minister.

The minister also reported that the Ministry of Public Security is improving the way it receives emergency calls by introducing a call-centre-like system, which he said would provide better services.

The system will also be able to identify callers’ numbers, which officials said should help address one of the current issues, in which troublemakers make crank calls with false information that wastes the valuable time and resources of fire fighters.

Source: Vientiane Times & KPL