Using a mobile in an emergency Edited on 19 August 2007

I've heard that I can dial 112 in emergency situations from my mobile phone. What sort of a number is it and how does it work?

112 is the GSM international standard emergency number, manufactured specifically for GSM mobile phones, and to be dialled in an urgent life-threatening situations. Provided there is GSM coverage, 112 can be dialled anywhere in the world and automatically translated to that country's particular emergency number.

While 000 should be dialled in the first instance, 112 may be a helpful secondary resource if you are out of your network operator's coverage area but within the coverage area of another network.

112 is not accessible from a fixed-line network (i.e. from your home phone).