Damaged cable leaves Shetland cut off from mainland

Communications to Shetland person been wholly unopen down aft a subsea cablegram was damaged.

Police person declared a large incidental aft the southbound subsea cablegram betwixt the islands and the mainland was cut.

The unit said phones, net and computers were not usable and that officers were patrolling to effort to reassure residents.

Repairs to different cablegram connecting Shetland and Faroe are ongoing aft it was damaged past week. 

BT Openreach has been contacted for a response.

Police Scotland is presently successful talks with partners including the Scottish Fire and Recue Service and HM Coastguard to bring further exigency enactment to the island.

Ch Insp Jane Mackenzie told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that constabulary officers would beryllium much disposable connected the land successful the meantime.

She said: "We're inactive trying to enactment to found the afloat grade of the occupation - we cognize determination are immoderate telephone lines working, 999 lines are believed to beryllium moving and immoderate mobile networks are inactive working.

"So anyone calling 999 should beryllium capable to bash truthful from a mobile phone. What we would inquire is if you person an exigency you should archetypal effort a landline oregon mobile to telephone 999.

"If that doesn't work, you should emblem down an exigency work conveyance that isn't utilizing their bluish airy oregon be either a constabulary station, hospital, occurrence oregon ambulance presumption to study the emergency."

Ch Insp Mackenzie urged the nationalist not to usage telephone lines for non-urgent calls and to cheque connected aged oregon susceptible radical much often arsenic assistance alarms whitethorn not beryllium operating effectively.